When the star-studded Blue Origin crew rocketed to outer space, not everyone applauded.
Celebrities including Olivia Wilde, Olivia Munn and Emily Ratajkowski criticized the Monday, April 14, launch, which marked the first all-female flight crew since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.
The event drew widespread derision on social media. Katy Perry, CBS Mornings host Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez (who is engaged to Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos) joined aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn for the 11-minute flight. Up in the cosmos, Perry performed a cover of “What a Wonderful World,” delighting her fellow passengers. (She kissed the ground when they landed.)
After receiving backlash for the trip, both King and Sánchez defended their space trip, with King telling People in a statement that “anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here.”
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Scroll down to read which stars had criticisms of the mission:
Emily Ratajkowski
@emrata
The model posted her reaction on TikTok following the rocket’s takeoff, saying she was “disgusted” by the event.
“That’s end time s***,” Ratajkowski said in the clip. “Like, this is beyond parody.”
She continued, “You say that you care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and you go up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that is single-handedly destroying the planet. … Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what?”
Olivia Wilde
The Booksmart director threw some shade hours after the event, sharing a meme of the space crew via her Instagram Story. The post was initially shared by the account @betches, which included a series of memes mocking Blue Origin.
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Wilde’s chosen meme included a photo of Perry emerging from the spacecraft after landing. While the caption read, “Getting off a commercial flight in 2025,” Wilde added her commentary, writing, “Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.”
Olivia Munn
Earlier this month, Munn made headlines by questioning the need for the trip.
“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,” the actress said during an appearance on Today with Jenna and Friends. “What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there?”
Munn noted that space travel is expensive and that the average American “can’t even afford eggs.”
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“What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” she continued. “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?”
Amy Schumer
Schumer used Blue Origin as a comic bit.
The comedian took to Instagram to jokingly inform her followers that she’d been added to the venture as a last-minute passenger.
“So I’m going to space and I’m so excited. Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry and Amanda Nguyen have been my guiding lights through this whole journey, which I just got called to be part of this space team this morning. And I’m loving it. I’ve always wanted to go to space, and also I just have to say, How high were the people who came up with the name for space? Were they like, ‘What should we call it? It’s got so much, like, space.’”
