The controversy surrounding Katy Perry’s trip to space continues to grow, with the “Roar” singer facing backlash following her 11-minute journey aboard Blue Origin.
While Blue Origin intended the flight to send a message of empowerment as the first all-female space mission since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight in 1963, it has instead been criticized as everything from ‘cringe’ to a waste of money.
At the heart of the controversy, Perry has become an unfortunate scapegoat.
Jeff Bezos assembled the all-female crew for the April 14 spaceflight, which included fiancée Lauren Sánchez, Perry, journalist Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and businesswoman Kerianne Flyn.
Even before the six accomplished women launched into space, there was controversy surrounding the message Jeff Bezos was attempting to convey. Olivia Munn from The Newsroom described it as ‘gluttonous,’ and since then, numerous female celebrities have voiced their opinions on the matter.
Perry made a touching tribute to her daughter (Blue Origin)
While Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez have pushed back against their critics, Katy Perry seems to be taking the brunt of the backlash, especially after a meme of her kissing the ground went viral.
The online criticism has been harsh, with even Wendy’s (yes, the fast food chain) taking jabs at the artist on X.
Whether it was holding a daisy in honor of her daughter or singing Louis Armstrong’s “It’s a Wonderful World,” Perry couldn’t seem to do anything right, becoming the face of NS-31’s controversy.
As reported by DailyMail.com, Perry allegedly “regrets” her behavior during the four minutes she spent in space and afterward. An insider shared, “Katy doesn’t regret going to space. It was life-changing. What she does regret is making a public spectacle out of it.”
The backlash has apparently come as a surprise to the former American Idol judge and has been described as ‘disheartening’ for the other women on the mission.
In addition to being criticized for holding a paper butterfly to promote her upcoming Lifetime tour, Perry has faced scrutiny for her post-flight speech, where she said, “It’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us. 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. This is all for the benefit of Earth,” Perry said during her post-flight interview.
The source reiterates that she “regrets” her behavior immediately after emerging from the capsule. Holding up a daisy was meant as a tribute to her four-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, showing how proud she is of her and demonstrating that her daughter can do anything. Unfortunately, that message seems to have been lost, with the source explaining that Perry “regrets sharing the daisy with the world” and “wishes the video footage from inside the pod was never shown.”
The criticism has only intensified as critics highlight the supposed environmental impact of the “green” Blue Origin launch, especially with a resurfaced video of Perry advocating for climate change awareness with UNICEF back in 2015.
Given the media circus surrounding Blue Origin’s celebrity-filled flights and the concept of an all-female mission to space, it was clear this event would attract significant attention—though not always for the right reasons.
