Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez clap back at critics over Blue Origin mission: ‘I get really fired up’
Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez have clapped back at those criticizing them for participating in the all-female Blue Origin NS-13 mission.
The star-studded team of women — that also included Katy Perry, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, ex-NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn — became the first all-women crew to visit space since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova took a solo flight in 1963.
However, celebrities like Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde, and Olivia Munn appeared less than pleased that the women were participating in the historic space mission and made their opinions known publicly.
King, 70, addressed the criticism hours after landing on the successful 11 minutes in space.
“Anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here,” the journalist told People.
“We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents.”
The fiancée of Blue Origin founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos also responded to some of those criticisms shortly after the launch and said it only got her more “fired up.”
“I get really fired up. I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle,” Sanchez, 55, told the outlet.
“They love their work and they love the mission and it’s a big deal for them.
“So when we hear comments like that, I just say, trust me. Come with me. I’ll show you what this is about, and it’s, it’s really eye-opening.”
Earlier this month, Munn, 44, called the mission “gluttonous” during an episode of “Today With Jenna and Friends.”
“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. What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there?” Munn questioned.
“If you wanna go to space, why do you need to tell us about it, you know? It’s just like, go up there, have a good time, come on down.”
Schumer, 43, also took a dig at the all-female space crew.
“Guys, last second, they added me to space, and I’m going to space,” the comedian joked in an Instagram video on launch day.
“I’m bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag, and I was on the Subway, and I got the text, and they were like, ‘Do you want to go to space?’ so I’m going to space.”
Wilde, 44, also took to Instagram to poke fun at Bezos fronting the bill for the mission’s outrageous cost.
“Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess,” she wrote on her story, along with a photo of Perry kissing the ground after returning from space.
Model Emily Ratajkowski also joined in and went on a rant about how the women’s short space voyage and others like it are damaging “Mother Earth.”
“That space mission this morning? That’s end time s–t. Like, this is beyond parody,” Ratajkowski told her TikTok followers in a selfie-style video filmed in the car.
“That you care about Mother Earth and it’s about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s singlehandedly destroying the planet?”
Blue Origin’s New Shepard 31 launched at 9:30 a.m. from the company’s West Texas base, carrying all six crewmates.
Like with previous space tourism missions, Blue Origin designed a special insignia for the women’s space suits, featuring all their names and a wink to each of their works and ambitions.
The women’s trip will mark the New Shepard’s 11th human flight.
