Katy Perry space flight blasted as ‘gluttunous’ as furious celebrities hit back at Blue Origin mission
Celebrities have voiced strong criticism of Blue Origin’s first all-female space mission which took place yesterday.
Olivia Munn, Amy Schumer and Olivia Wilde are just three famous faces who all publicly questioned the purpose and cost of the 11-minute expedition that carried six women to the edge of space.
The mission, led by Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, included singer Katy Perry and CBS Mornings host Gayle King among others.
The celebrity backlash began earlier this month when Munn called the venture “gluttonous” during a television appearance, with Schumer and Wilde adding their criticisms after the launch.
Munn’s criticism came during her appearance on Today With Jenna & Friends on April 3, where she questioned the mission’s purpose.
“What are they doing? Like why?” the actress asked. “I know this probably isn’t the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now.”
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She highlighted the financial aspect of space tourism, saying: “It’s so much money to go to space, and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs.”
The Newsroom alum further questioned the impact of the mission, calling it “a bit gluttonous” and asking: “What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?”
Wilde, the Don’t Worry Darling director, took to Instagram after the mission’s completion to share her thoughts on the costly venture.
She reposted a meme featuring photos of Perry kissing the ground after landing, captioned “getting off a commercial flight in 2025” in reference to recent plane incidents.
Wilde added her own commentary to the post, writing: “Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.”
Her criticism focused on the enormous expense of the Blue Origin mission, which is operated by Bezos’ space technology company.
The mission required a substantial deposit of £150,000 per seat, though total costs weren’t publicly disclosed.
Schumer took a more satirical approach, posting a video on Instagram mocking the mission on the day of the launch.
“Guys, last second they added me to space and I’m going to space,” the comedian joked whilst holding a Black Panther toy.
“I’m bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag and I was on the Subway, and I got the text and they were like, ‘Do you want to go to space?’ so I’m going to space,” she continued.
She concluded her sarcastic announcement with: “Thank you to everyone who got me here. I’ll see you guys in space.”
The mission marked a historic moment as the first all-female spaceflight crew since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.
The 11-minute journey aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket gave the crew approximately four minutes in zero-gravity space.
Nguyen made history as the first Vietnamese woman to travel to space, while Bowe became the first person of Bahamian heritage to make the journey.
Following the criticism, both Sánchez and King defended the mission in interviews after their return to Earth. King told People magazine that critics “don’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,” she added. Sánchez admitted the criticism gets her “really fired up”.
“I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle,” she said.
“When we hear comments like that, I just say, trust me. Come with me. I’ll show you what this is about, and it’s really eye-opening.”
Perry told ELLE magazine she wanted to inspire her daughter Daisy to “never have limits on her dreams” regardless of background or circumstances.
King hoped to encourage others to step outside their comfort zones, saying: “Once I do it, then the doors will open for so many other people.”
For Nguyen, the mission fulfilled a “dream deferred” after leaving her astrophysics career to advocate for sexual assault survivors.
“I want to honor the person that I was before I was hurt,” she explained, bringing meaningful personal items including her mother’s shells and the pen used by Barack Obama to sign the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Act.