Katy Perry's 10-minute spaceflight sparks TROLLING and meme-fest; Olivia Wilde, Emily Ratajkowski join fans in criticising 'vanity project'

Pop star Katy Perry's 10-minute spaceflight aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket has launched off a wave of criticism and internet memes with many asking 'what's the point?'.
The mission, which took place on April 14, 2025, featured an all-female crew, including journalist Gayle King, pilot Lauren Sánchez, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. The flight aimed to highlight female empowerment in space exploration.

Despite the mission's historic nature, many on social media viewed Perry's participation as what is being dubbed as a 'vanity project'. Critics pointed out the 10-minute flight and questioned its significance. Memes circulated comparing the flight's duration to Taylor Swift's 'All Too Well' which some fans said 'felt longer' than the flight.
Olivia Wilde seemly shaded Perry in a post that read, “Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.”




Perry's actions post-flight, such as kissing the ground upon landing and singing "What a Wonderful World" during the flight, were also met with scepticism. "just found out katy perry’s gonna be in space for just a whopping 11 minutes….. why’d i think she was gonna spend a whole month on the moon," read a tweet.
Another called out the environmental impact of the short rocket flight. Emily Ratajkowski slammed the space trip saying, "That space mission this morning, that’s a big show, like, you say you care about Mother Earth and you’re going to space in a ship built and funded by a company that’s destroying the planet."



One argued, "Call me a hater if you want but I totally disagree with this spaceship shit, not because of Katy Perry but for all the pollution that will be caused by a rocket launch on a useless 10 min trip."
Another asked, "katy perry went to space for 10 minutes can u pls explain to me how many children you could have fed or how many forests u could have replanted instead of wasting literal billions of dollars and f***ing the ozone up?"




Another took a dig at the singer saying, "katy perry had to spend hundred of thousands of dollars to take a vanity trip to space just to be relevant again for 10 mins.'
While she stated that the experience was about "making space for future women," many argued that the mission lacked substantive contribution to space exploration or STEM advocacy.




The flight's high-profile nature and the involvement of celebrities have sparked discussions about the role of wealth and privilege in accessing space tourism. While Blue Origin does not publicly reveal the exact cost of its private spaceflights, booking a seat through the company’s website requires a deposit of $150,000. According to Forbes, the total price per passenger is estimated to be in the millions.