Gayle King has faced significant backlash from pop fans, outspoken celebrities, and even some of her friends following her recent 11-minute space flight with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
The broadcast journalist, who overcame a deep-seated fear of flying to participate in the trip, issued a challenge to her critics: “Blast off or back off.”
“My question is, have y’all been to space? Go to space or go to Blue Origin and see what they do and then come back and say, ‘This is a terrible thing,’” King told Extra, lamenting that she wishes more people would engage in thorough research before criticizing the expenses linked to such flights and Blue Origin’s mission statement.
She emphasized that every flight generates crucial information, referencing Blue Origin’s objective “to figure out a way to harness the waste here and put it in space to make the Earth a better place.”
NASA has previously pointed out the existence of large amounts of orbital debris, or “space junk,” traveling at remarkable speeds around low Earth orbit (LEO).
As per a 2023 report, “Due to the rate of speed and volume of debris in LEO, current and future space-based services, explorations, and operations pose a safety risk to people and property in space and on Earth.”
It appears that Blue Origin succeeded in convincing King and the other participants—singer Katy Perry, journalist Lauren Sánchez, sexual assault survivor advocate Amanda Nguyễn, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe—of the merit of Bezos’ space tourism venture.
Framing the flight as a feminist milestone, being the first all-female space flight since 1963 when Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, likely contributed to its positive reception.
“I know there are cranky Yankees, I know there are some haters, but I’m not gonna let people steal my joy and steal the joy of what we did or what we accomplished that day,” King asserted. “I’m just not going to let it in. I’m not. And these are some of my friends that are throwing shade!”
Despite King’s enthusiasm, a segment of the public remains skeptical.
In a recent TikTok video, actress Emily Ratajkowski expressed her concerns: “I think that this space mission is confusing to people because seeing women and people of color in spaces like science and politics that have not previously included them feels and looks like, really looks like — optically looks like — progress.”
Ratajkowski further expressed that having a rich white man, who has amassed wealth through exploitation and greed, take his fiancée and a select group of famous women to space for tourism isn’t genuine progress.
Actress Olivia Munn added her voice to the criticism: “I know this is probably obnoxious, but like, it’s so much money to go to space, and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs. What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous.”
Munn questioned what advancements the space flight could provide to improve life back on Earth.
King expressed disappointment at the framing of the journey as merely a “ride,” asserting a double standard in the narrative surrounding the all-female trip compared to previous Blue Origin flights that included only male astronauts.
“You never see a man, a male astronaut, who’s going up in space and they say, ‘Oh, he took a ride,’” she remarked. “It’s always referred to as a flight or a journey, so I feel that’s a little disrespectful to what the mission was and the work that Blue Origin does.”
King noted, however, that she does understand the perspective of her critics.
“I think it’s good that we can really address it,” she stated. “Because I was one of those people before I went on this flight and before I became educated. ‘Why are we spending so much money on space when there’s so much to do on Earth?’”
She acknowledged that the financial barriers to accessing Blue Origin’s flights are substantial but posited that if enough people are interested, prices could drop.
Although Blue Origin has not made the total cost of a New Shepard spaceflight public, the company’s website states that “Blue Origin will collect a $150,000 USD fully refundable deposit to begin the order process.”
In a notable instance of media attention, a seat on Blue Origin’s first-ever flight sold for a staggering $28 million.
As King returned to Earth from her space journey, she reflected on the significance of her experience during the three to four minutes of weightlessness.
“You look down at the planet and you think, that’s where we came from?” she said. “To me it’s such a reminder about how we need to do better, be better.”
image source from：https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/gayle-king-defends-space-flight-backlash-1235318753/
