EmRata, Olivia Wilde, & More Criticize The Celeb Space Mission
"That's end times sh*t. Like, this is beyond parody."
Not everyone was over the moon about the highly publicized Blue Origin space tourism flight that launched on April 14. Though the brief mission was advertised as the first spaceflight with an all-female crew, touting celebrities like Katy Perry and Gayle King as first-time astronauts, critics didn’t see the trip as one giant leap for womankind. Instead, stars like Emily Ratajkowski and Olivia Wilde condemned the exorbitant cost of the 10-minute trip.
Even before Blue Origin NS-31 took off on the morning of April 14, it was mired in controversy. The 11th launch as part of billionaire founder Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard space tourism program, the celebrity-filled vessel was written off as a publicity stunt in The New York Times and specifically called out for its language around feminism.
The automated flight consisted of six well-known women: Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, Perry, King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn. It’s not publicly available how much this mission (which lasted about 10 and a half minutes from takeoff to landing) cost, but previous New Shepard seats have been sold for tens of millions of dollars.
Shortly after the mission, King and Sánchez responded to critics of the event. “Anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here,” King told People when asked about the backlash. Sánchez added: “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.”
Still, the spaceflight drew significant controversy, with even a few fellow A-listers voicing their disapproval of the costly trip into outer space.
1. Emily Ratajkowski
Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski was blunt in her opinion of the whole spectacle: “That space space mission this morning, that’s end times sh*t. Like, this is beyond parody,” she said in an April 14 TikTok.
She accused the publicized launch of hypocrisy, alluding to Bezos’ recent step away from climate change efforts. “Saying that you care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s singlehandedly destroying the planet?” Ratajkowski said. “Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? What was the marketing there? I’m disgusted.”
2. Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde focused on the extensive financial resources used for the Blue Origin flight. She shared a meme of Perry exiting the shuttle, and captioned it with: "Billion dollars bought some good memes, I guess."
3. Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer poked fun at the celebrity-filled mission with a tongue-in-cheek Instagram video in which she joked she was a last-minute addition to the Blue Origin crew.
“Guys, last second they added me to space and I'm going to space," the comedian said in the clip. "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. Thank you to everyone who got me here. I'll see you guys in space."
4. Olivia Munn
In the days leading up to the launch, Olivia Munn questioned the motive behind the mission. “What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” Munn said while co-hosting Today with Jenna & Friends on April 4.
“I know this is probably obnoxious, but like, it’s so much money to go to space, and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs,” Munn said. “Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here? I mean, I don’t know if all that rocket fuel is good. This is a lot of resources being spent.”
5. Kesha
Pop star Kesha also found herself caught up in the Blue Origin discourse, although her perceived bit of shade appears to have less to do with the actual spaceflight and more to do with her well-documented feud with Perry.
Hours after the shuttle had landed back on earth, fast food chain Wendy’s went viral for a rude social media post about Perry. Just a couple hours later, Kesha posted a photo of herself smiling while sipping out of a Wendy’s cup.
