On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 mission sent six high-profile women into suborbital space in what was billed as a historic all-female spaceflight.
But what started as a supposed win for representation quickly sparked criticism, ridicule, and an avalanche of memes online.
Among the six women aboard were pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and pilot Lauren Sánchez—who is also engaged to Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
The eleven-minute flight saw Perry performing “What a Wonderful World” in zero gravity, while other crew members documented the experience through branded social media content. While Blue Origin framed the mission as a step toward gender equity in space, critics weren’t buying it.
Model and actor Emily Ratajkowski didn’t mince words:
“That’s end-time shit. Like, this is beyond parody,” she said. “You say that you care 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 questioned the environmental cost of the trip and what it ultimately achieved: “Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what?”
Comedian Amy Schumer joined the roast by posting a sarcastic video on Instagram claiming she was added to the mission last minute, holding a random toy and joking,
“It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag.” In a follow-up story, she mocked the trip’s perceived superficiality: “Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, and Amanda Nguyen have been my guiding lights through this whole journey… I’ve always wanted to go to space,” she said with a smirk, before mocking the term “space” itself.
Meanwhile, actress Olivia Munn questioned the mission’s relevance in a world grappling with real issues. “What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there?” she asked in a candid appearance on “Today With Jenna and Friends.”
Even Olivia Wilde chimed in, resharing memes poking fun at Perry’s space pose and adding, “Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.”
Despite the criticism, Gayle King stood by the mission, framing it as a beacon of inspiration for young women and a celebration of possibility. Blue Origin has not directly responded to the backlash but continues to position the flight as part of a broader vision of accessible space travel.
It’s also worth noting that each New Shepard launch is estimated to cost between $1 million and $3 million, making ticket prices of around $500,000 per passenger necessary for financial viability.
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