Wendy’s is addressing its controversial X posts about Katy Perry’s journey into space.
The “Firework” singer was among the all-women crew aboard a Blue Origin spaceflight that ascended above Earth for around 11 minutes on Monday, April 14. She was joined by CBS Mornings host Gayle King and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez.
Responding to a Pop Crave post that said, “Katy Perry has returned from space,” the official Wendy’s X post tweeted, “Can we send her back.”
The fast food chain’s social media account continued to poke fun at Perry’s ascent into space. Commenting on a photo of Perry kissing the ground after returning to Earth and exiting the space shuttle, Wendy’s joked, “I kissed the ground and i liked it,” a riff on Perry’s hit song “I Kissed a Girl.”
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In a statement to People on Thursday, April 17, Wendy’s said that despite its spicy social media commentary, the chain has no issues with Perry, 40.
“We always bring a little spice to our socials, but Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world-talent,” Wendy’s said.
Monday’s spaceflight was criticized by numerous celebrities, including Emily Ratajkowski and Olivia Wilde, who questioned the expensive journey amid a cost-of-living crisis in the U.S. and its impact on the environment.
King, 70, however, defended the spaceflight in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
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“This is what I would say to that: space is not an either/or, it’s a both/and. Because you do something in space doesn’t mean you’re taking anything away from Earth, and what you’re doing in space is trying to make things better here on Earth,” she said. “What Blue Origin wants to do is take the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner. Jeff Bezos has so many ideas, and the people that are working there are really devoted and dedicated to making our planet a better place.”
King went on to add, “Have you been? If you’ve been and you still feel that way after you come back, please let’s have a conversation.”
“So, I’m very disappointed and very saddened by it,” King said of the criticism, noting that she has received messages from women and girls who have been inspired by the all-women space crew.
Perry, King and Sánchez were joined on the spaceflight by filmmaker Kerianne Flynn, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe. They became the first all-women crew aboard a spaceflight since Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s 1963 solo trip.
