Gayle King, Katy Perry & All-Female Blue Origin Crew Face Backlash Over 11-Minute Spaceflight

Gayle King, Katy Perry & All-Female Blue Origin Crew Face Backlash Over 11-Minute Spaceflight

The Blue Origin space expedition featuring Gayle King, Katy Perry, and other participants continues to draw backlash following its 11-minute trip to space.

After the historic all-female crew’s successful round trip on Monday, April 14, many critics have called the mission “out of touch,” especially in light of the ongoing economic and political turmoil in the U.S.

Blue Origin flew participants — Gayle, Katy, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn — roughly 60 miles above Earth.

 

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Model Emily Ratajkowski is one of several celebrities who have publicly criticized the mission. She said she was “disgusted” by the trip and slammed the women for wasting resources and partnering with a company “that is single-handedly destroying the planet.”

Gayle fired back at critics, claiming that those who have a problem with the expedition are missing the bigger picture. Speaking on the matter, she said:

“Anybody that’s criticizing doesn’t really understand what is happening here… We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women, from young girls, about what this represents.”

What are your thoughts on the Blue Origin space trip?