Katy Perry claimed she was “battered and bruised” after the backlash from a recent space flight. The trip was sponsored by Blue Origin and included six women, all famous or accomplished in different fields. Outside of Katy Perry, there was Laura Sanchez, the fiancée of Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder, newcaster Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. People online viewed this entire space trip as an out-of-touch, harmful show, with Perry’s comments piling on top of that narrative.
Perry continued by saying, “But I get back up and go on and continue to play the game and somehow through my battered and bruised adventure I keep looking to the light and in that light a new level unlocks.” This unnecessarily flowery language was the culmination of criticism on Perry’s participation in the exclusive space flight, which she used as marketing for her upcoming tour. The debate online sparked questions in relation to the optics of celebrities frivolously flying to space amidst economic disparity, and as to whether Bezos’ project is furthering humanity or leaving some behind.
Why Is Blue Origin Receiving Backlash?
Blue Origin’s 11-minute space flight was intended to highlight women’s accomplishments in space. The company is focused on space tourism, “aiming to give more people the opportunity to travel to space”. “We’re building a road to space for the benefit of Earth,” reads the mission statement on the company’s website. Other objectives include “[to] radically reduce the cost of access to space” and “harness the vast resources of space.”
Many started to see through the cracks and questioned the hypocrisy of not only this individual trip but the company as a whole. To partake, it requires a $150,000 refundable deposit, a sum of money not many could spend. So, how does this company make space travel more affordable if the average person can’t participate? Highlighting women also rang hollow with a wider audience, with many questioning how this is helping women. The complaints continued to pile up from the environmental harm to criticism from other celebrities. Blue Origin was not escaping this news cycle.
Despite the company’s mission statement, one of its main criticisms is its frivolous privatization of space. The space mission was attacked by Emily Ratajkowski, Olivia Munn, and even the Wendy’s Twitter account. While co-hosting Today with Jenna and friends, actress Olivia Munn questioned what the point of the trip was and called it “a bit gluttonous.” She continued by saying, “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?” After that, calling back to the egg affordability crisis that has been a major concern in America over the past few months.
Even professionals in the industry weighed in on the drama. In an interview with the BBC, Dr Kai-Uwe Schrogl, special advisor for political affairs at the European Space Agency, said, “A celebrity isn’t an envoy of humankind – they go into space for their own reasons. These flights are significant and exciting, but I think maybe they can also be a source of frustration for space scientists,” he added. “We see space flight as being for science, knowledge, and the interests of humanity. Celebrities do it for amusement but get a lot more attention than the regular astronauts.”
Olivia Munn’s criticism on a daily show seems to have some valid frustration behind it. These Blue Origin space flights mainly highlight celebrities and are frivolous in nature. Space exploration has historically been used to further human knowledge, not for a fun 11-minute excursion. While commercial space flights don’t benefit our knowledge of the world beyond us, they could have repercussions for the world we still inhabit.
Rocket exhaust contains gases that can affect the Earth’s ozone layer. On the Blue Origin website under the subpage “Protecting our Planet”, the company claims that the only byproduct from their rockets is water vapor with zero carbon emissions. Eloise Marais, a professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality at University College London, combated that statement by pointing out that water vapor is a greenhouse gas itself and shouldn’t be in the upper layers of the atmosphere. “It alters the chemistry of the stratosphere, depleting the ozone layer, and also forms clouds that affect climate,” she says.
Dr. Harrison, who previously worked at NASA, added a different perspective on the all-women Blue Origin space flight. She speculates that flights like these could change the demographics of people who join space programs. Aisha Bowe, who participated in the flight, defended it by saying, “We advanced science today. More people are going to be able to do meaningful research with Blue Origin because we collected data. We contributed to the knowledge base of what people know about women. We are inspiring the world right now.”
While there are always two sides to every story, it seems like Blue Origin is whitewashing its true intentions as a company. They claim they are protecting the planet by using water vapor, but that is not substantiated by evidence. They claim these commercial trips are working to make space more accessible, but only exclusive guests can partake. They claim it’s benefiting the earth, but these short expeditions don’t further human knowledge. It seems like their mission is inconsistent with the truth.
Celebrities going to space during a time of great economic struggle calls back to the original space race, where a similar dynamic existed. Although celebrities weren’t at the center of it, Gil Scott-Heron did criticize America’s obsession with space in the 60s, especially while Black Americans were neglected. It was called “Whitey On the Moon”. It could be viewed as a bit of a brash title, but Gil has never been known to tame his opinion.
I can’t pay no doctor bills
But whitey’s on the moon
Ten years from now I’ll be payin’ still
While whitey’s on the moon
The man just upped my rent last night
Cause whitey’s on the moon
No hot water, no toilets no lights
But whitey’s on the moon
How strange is it that the same dynamics Gil was commenting on 50 years ago have only grown more relevant today. The average man still struggles to pay for healthcare, still can’t afford a house, but thank god Katy Perry gets to see the moon.
