Blue Origin space flight: Gayle King responds to criticism that left her ‘saddened and disappointed’

Gayle King has responded to criticism over her Blue Origin space flight, sharing that the response has left her “saddened” and “disappointed”.

The American journalist and TV host, 70, was among the six women on board Jeff Bezos’ New Shephard rocket that blasted into space for a 10-minute flight earlier this week.

The journey has since been met with some wide-reaching criticism – including from high-profile celebrities – which King addressed on CBS Mornings, the breakfast show she hosts.

“This is what bothers me, because I’ve certainly read some of the things online coming from people that I know, that I like, that I consider friends,” she said.

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“Space is not an either or, it’s a both and, and because you do something in space doesn’t mean you’re taking anything away from Earth.

“And what you’re doing in space is trying to make things better here on Earth.

“What Blue Origin wants to do is take the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner.

“Jeff Bezos has so many ideas and the people that are working there are really devoted and dedicated to making our planet a better place. That’s number one.”

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King continued to express her disappointment in the backlash.

“There was nothing frivolous about what we did. So, you know I’m very disappointed and very saddened by it,” she said.

“And I also say this – what it’s doing to inspire other women and young girls, please don’t ignore that,” she added.

“I’ve had so many women and young girls reach out to me, and men too, by the way, men too say, ‘Wow, I never thought I could do that but I see you doing it at this stage of your life’.”

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King was aboard the Blue Origin flight to space on Monday 15 April alongside Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, pop superstar Katy Perry, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, movie producer Kerianne Flynn and research scientist Amanda Nguyen on the 10-minute flight.

Both Bowe and Nguyen conducted science experiments while on board the flight that focused on plant biology, human physiology, women’s health and space-suit embedded ultrasound technology.

The fully-automated suborbital space flight lasted 10 minutes in total and the women on board experienced about four minutes of weightlessness in space before returning to Earth under parachutes.

The recent trip has been met with wide criticism over the high costs of the space flight and the alleged high carbon emissions amid ongoing cost of living and climate concerns.

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Before the launch, actress Olivia Munn criticised the flight on an episode of Today with Jenna & Friends on April 3.

“What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” she said.

“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?”

Later Olivia Wilde added to the conversation, reposting a meme that had surfaced of Katy Perry kissing the ground after exiting the spacecraft which read, “getting off a commercial flight in 2025 #BlueOrigin”.

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Of the meme Wilde wrote, “Billion dollars bought some good memes, I guess.”

Model and actress Emily Ratajkowski also shared her frustration over the launch on TikTok.

Watch the video at the top of the page.

“This is beyond parody. Saying that you care about Mother Earth and that its about Mother Earth and you’re going up in a space ship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying that planet,” she said.

“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space, for what? –I’m disgusted, literally, I’m disgusted.”

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She followed it up with a second post to expand on her thoughts about the space flight.

“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 said.

“But the truth is, is that having a man who has gained his power and become a part of the one percent purely through exploitation and greed deciding to take his fiancée and a few other famous women to space for space tourism is not progress.

“It just speaks to the fact that we are absolutely living in an oligarchy, where there is a very small group of people who are interested in going to space for the sake of getting a new lease on life while the rest of the population, most people on Planet Earth, are worried about paying rent, or, you know, having dinner for their kids.”

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