Olivia Wilde was not impressed with Katy Perry and the all-women Blue Origin crew’s recent venture to outer space.
Wilde, 41, shared a meme of the space crew via her Instagram Story on Monday, April 14, following their mission. The post was initially shared by the account @betches, which included a series of memes poking fun at Blue Origin.
The meme Wilde chose to share included a photo of Perry, 40, coming out of the spacecraft after it returned from its orbit and an additional pic of her kissing the ground. The meme’s caption read, “Getting off a commercial flight in 2025.”
Wilde added further commentary by writing, “Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.”
Perry was one of six women who launched into space via a Blue Origin rocket. The singer was joined by CBS Mornings host Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez.
While up in the cosmos, Perry delighted her fellow travelers with a song. Instead of opting for one of her hits, she performed “What a Wonderful World” — which was a highlight according to King, 70.
“We’ve been asking her to sing all the time, and she wouldn’t,” the morning show host said upon returning to Earth during Blue Origin’s Monday launch X livestream on Monday. “Everybody said, ‘Sing ‘Roar.’ Sing ‘Firework.’ And she said, ‘It’s not about me. I wanted to talk about the world.’”
Wilde was not the only person to speak out against the mission. Earlier this month, Olivia Munn also questioned the need for the trip.
“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,” the actress, 44, said during an appearance on Today with Jenna and Friends earlier this month. “What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there?”
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Munn elaborated on her stance by pointing out that space travel is costly and the average person “can’t even afford eggs” at the moment.
“What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” she continued. “Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?”
After receiving backlash, both King and Sánchez, 55, defended their space trip. King told People in a statement on Monday that “anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here.”
“We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents,” she added.
Sánchez, for her part, shared that she wants to show the naysayers what it’s like to be a member of the Blue Origin team.
“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,” she said. “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 really eye-opening.”
