Katy Perry reflects on space trip backlash and regrets spectacle
Katy Perry expressed regret over the "public spectacle" she created during a space trip funded by Jeff Bezos, which attracted widespread media criticism.
On 14 April, the 40-year-old American singer joined the first all-female crew in over six decades to take part in an 11-minute space journey aboard the Blue Origin rocket, launched from the Texas desert. She was joined on the mission by Bezos’ fiancée, American journalist Lauren Sánchez, broadcaster Gayle King, former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Wave of criticism after the journey to the skies
Although the event was presented as a historic moment, it faced a wave of criticism. Many accused it of being simply a marketing stunt for Bezos’ space tourism programme, part of the commercial Blue Origin programme. Celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski, Olivia Wilde, and Amy Schumer openly condemned the mission. Actress Jessica Chastain shared an article on her social media profiles describing the expedition as "a kind of perverse funeral for the America that once enabled both scientific advancement and feminist progress."
Katy Perry faced particular criticism for her "over-the-top" behaviour during and after the expedition. During the flight, she was filmed lifting a daisy towards the sky and singing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." Upon returning to Earth, she kissed the ground and stated in a press conference that she felt "super connected to love."
According to information from the "Daily Mail", Perry now regrets making the mission "a public spectacle." "Katy doesn't regret going to space. It was life changing. What she does regret is making a public spectacle out of it," a source claims.
The American fast-food chain Wendy's mocked the singer on social media, asking, "Can we send her back?" in response to the news of her return from space. Photos of Perry kissing the ground after landing were shared with the caption: "I kissed the ground and I liked it," referencing her hit "I Kissed a Girl."
Model and activist Emily Ratajkowski called the Blue Origin mission "the end of the world." "This is beyond parody," she stated in an Instagram story. "You say 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 single-handedly destroying the planet," she added.
In response to the criticism, Gayle King stated that "anybody that’s criticising it 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," she highlighted.
Katy Perry doesn't appear to be bothered by the criticism. She shared a picture of a school lunch she prepared for her daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, who she has with her husband, British actor Orlando Bloom. "Back to the best reality – packing school lunch," she wrote, adding daisy and heart emojis.
During the press conference, the singer thanked a journalist who called her an astronaut and said that the journey "has all always been that love and belonging." "I think that it’s not about me, it’s not about singing my songs, it’s about a collective energy in there, it’s about us," she explained. "It’s about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging, and it’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it."
Perry added that she plans to write a song about her space journey. We await it.
