Pop star Katy Perry, Gayle King, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics researcher and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn went to space for approximately 11 minutes on April 14. This trip has garnered backlash from other celebrities, fans and others about the trip’s necessity.
“I did not appreciate Katy Perry’s trip to space,” said Chloe Butts, a junior theatre major. “I thought it was very out of touch and bizarre. I did not feel like it empowered women. It definitely was an us vs. them, the rich can go to space, while working families are struggling to afford groceries. An 11-minute space voyage does not justify the resources and damage.”
The six women were aboard Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket that crossed the boundary of space and gave them a few seconds of weightlessness. Viral videos and pictures of Perry experiencing weightlessness while holding a flower have garnered much attention.
“I feel super-connected to love,” Perry said in an interview with the BBC shortly after landing. “I think this experience has shown me you never know how much love is inside of you-how much love you have to give, and how loved you are, until the day of launch.”
While Perry and the rest of the crew hoped that this all-women voyage to space would result in nothing but positivity, the women and men of the internet are furious.
All over the social media app TikTok, people are complaining about the damage done to the world with this 11-minute trip to space. Each passenger on a typical space tourism flight of 11 minutes emits at least 75 tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
Model and actress Emily Ratajkowski slammed Perry on TikTok, condemning her space flight.
“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space.” Ratajkowski said in a TikTok video. “For what. What was the marketing there?”
Actress Olivia Munn also made her opinion known on social media via an Instagram post.
“What are they doing?” Munn said in an interview days before the take-off. “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,”
Arguments surrounding the price of eggs and living have continued to be a topic of conversation with the space mission. The main argument surrounding the amount of money celebrities like Perry spend when the average person is struggling to afford basic items.
“It is ridiculous,” said Camille Tobey, a sophomore mass communication major. “I don’t think that celebrities should waste money on pointless trips to space when people are starving in the world. They should have put that money to something more useful.”
While Perry and her crew claim to be the best thing for “women in STEM,” plenty of strides have been made for women in this field. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space in 1963, completing a three-day mission, orbiting the Earth 48 times.
Sally Ride was the first American woman in space, flying on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983. During her mission, she operated the robotic arm to help deploy satellites. She was passionate about science education and inspiring young women to pursue science.
“It sounded cool at first, having an all-female crew go to space, especially with Katy Perry, who you would never think would go to space,” said Shira Funk, a sophomore environmental science major. “But the more I think about it, it would have been more empowering if they had done something to help the planet instead of making it worse.”
The crew’s trip to space was marketed as a step forward for feminism, but several people have seen it as a step back. While their intentions seemed pure, many women saw this as nothing but a publicity stunt.