Gayle King’s all-female crew returned to Earth safely after an 11-minute flight into space on Monday, April 14. The “CBS Mornings” anchor was seen crying as she arrived at the launch site in West Texas with Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, and others.
Gayle managed to dry her tears and climb on board the rocket for Blue Origin’s historic all-female flight.
Gayle’s longtime bestie Oprah Winfrey cried as the spacecraft launched from the site in West Texas.
The crew lifted off at 9:30 a.m. and traveled 62 miles above Earth. The crew experienced some weightlessness before returning to Earth.
? Weightless and limitless. pic.twitter.com/GQgHd0aw7i
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
When Blue Origin made a safe landing, singer Katy Perry emerged from the capsule and got down on her hands and knees to kiss the ground.
Gayle also dropped to her knees and thanked God for bringing her back safely.
Jeff Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, wasn’t as dramatic when she touched down.
Then the criticism began online.
Actress Emily Ratajkowski slammed the Blue Origin crew and founder Jeff Bezos for wasting a billion dollars on the “pointless” space flight.
“You say you care about Earth, then fly in a planet-killing rocket,” she said in a TikTok rant. Emily called the space flight a PR stunt. “I’m disgusted. Literally disgusted,” she said.
“That space mission this morning? That’s end-times sh*t. Like, this is beyond parody,” she added.
TikTok users agreed with Emily. One person wrote: “You want to uplift women? Start with the ones down here on Earth.”
Another person wrote in the comments: “I wish more influential & famous people would speak on this. So far it’s only you & Olivia Munn who have called them out for this preposterous PR stunt.”
Olivia Munn, Amy Schumer and Olivia Wilde also mocked the spaceflight.
“I know this is probably obnoxious,” Olivia Munn said, “but it’s 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?” she added. “I think it’s a bit gluttonous. 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?”
Jeff Bezos hopes to make space flights a money-making venture. He charges over $1 million for a seat. But the all-female crew flew for free on Monday.
@emrata
