Here’s How Gayle King Responded To The Blue Origin Space Flight Backlash
Nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was, is ever going to bring her down.
It’s been a little over a week, and we’re still holding space for when Blue Origin’s all-female crew defied gravity for a few minutes.
On April 14, CBS Mornings co-anchor Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, research scientist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, and Katy Perry embarked on a suborbital flight, reaching the fourth-highest later of the Earth’s atmosphere.
The New Shepard NS-31 crew was the first time an all-female crew had been to space in 60 years, but the voyage was still heavily criticized before the ship even took flight.
Justin Hamel / Getty Images
Olivia Munn reacted to the Blue Origin crew’s trip while co-hosting Today With Jenna & Friends, saying, “There are so many other things that are so important in the world right now. What are you guys going to do up in space?”
NBC / youtu.be
“And by the way, if you want to go to space, why do you need to tell us about it? You know?” Olivia continued. “Just go up there, have a good time, come on down. Also, I just think about — I know this is probably obnoxious but it’s so much money to go to space. There’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs. Oh my God, if they bring eggs into space!”
Emily Ratajkowski shared a video on her TikTok calling the space mission “end-time shit” and its purpose is “beyond parody.”
@emrata / tiktok.com
“Saying that you care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying the planet? Look at the state of the world, and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space, and for what? For what, what was the marketing there? And then to try to make it like … I’m disgusted. Literally, I’m disgusted.”
After the ship landed, Gayle responded to the backlash, saying, “I feel that anybody that’s criticizing doesn’t really understand what is happening here. I’ve heard it, we’ve all heard it.”
Craig T Fruchtman / Getty Images
“I hope that they will do a deep dive into what this represents. We can all speak to the response we’re gettign from young women, young girls about what this represents,” she added. “This is really a lot of work, what went into getting us up and getting us down.”
John Nacion / Variety via Getty Images
But, despite Gayle and the other women’s efforts to quell the complaints, the backlash persisted. However, on the red carpet for the Time 100 Gala on April 24, Gayle proved that she’s rising above the hate.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Gayle said, “I’m not even focusing on backlash.”
Craig T Fruchtman / Getty Images
“What I know is that we did something that was incredible. All of us feel proud and brave of what we did, and I know the difference it’s making for young women and girls and even some boys. So, I’m not focusing on negativity.”
ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images
When asked if she would take another trip to outer space, Gayle said, “I’m not going back anytime soon, but I’m definitely open to it.”
WWD / WWD via Getty Images
According to THR, Gayle “felt safe” being part of the all-female Blue Origin crew traveling to space. “It’s odd to feel safe for something that’s so dangerous, and I know inherently it’s very dangerous. But I had such trust in how we were trained and the company,” she said. “So yes, I would definitely consider it.”
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic
Although it seems like a parody written and directed by Adam McKay, the all-female Blue Origin totally got into a spaceship, and everyone totally had strong opinions about it.
But, if you think the backlash will ground Gayle King, you have another thing coming — because she’s down for round two.
