Katy Perry’s extraterrestrial pursuits ought to come as no shock to these of us who could or could not have been diehard followers of the pop star when “E.T.” (that includes the artist previously often called Kanye West) reached Earth in 2011.
Foreshadowing her minutes-long Blue Origin voyage into area this morning, April 14, Perry’s over-a-decade-old music video for “E.T.” imagined the musician floating in area, coated in thick white basis and a helical headdress.
This morning, nevertheless, Perry wore a form-fitted blue jumpsuit, matching 5 different high-profile area vacationers, together with tv host Gayle King, Jeff Bezos’s fiancé Lauren Sánchez, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and activist Amanda Nguyen. Unfolding over a comically temporary 11 minutes in a Tic-Tac mint-shaped vessel owned by Bezos’s firm Blue Origin (keep in mind these memes?), Perry’s real-life journey to area flopped within the public eye as arduous as her seventh studio album 143 (2024).
I imply, this isn’t rocket science. (screenshot by way of X)
Katy was on aux. (screenshot by way of X)
Memers and opinion columnists unleashed a torrent of humorous criticism at Perry virtually immediately after the group’s touchdown. Perry, greater than the others, appears to signify a burgeoning billionaire-funded interstellar tourism motion that abandons the Twentieth-century pretense of analysis and innovation and as a substitute overtly embraces the whims and desires of the wealthy and well-known.
However in a press convention almost 4 instances longer than the journey, the ladies defended the journey as a heart-opening expertise and advocated, albeit abstractly, for the care of planet Earth.
That is actual footage, I confirmed. (screenshot by way of Bluesky)
The spectacle comes days after the Guardian obtained paperwork revealing the Trump administration’s plans to intestine funding for the Nationwide Aeronautics and House Administration (NASA), particularly focusing on local weather science-related tasks.
Blue Origin declined to confide in CNN simply how a lot the area journey value, however mentioned that some within the group of all-female passengers paid for his or her seats, and others had been supplied a free trip.
After kissing the bottom upon touchdown, Perry informed reporters that she sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” at zero gravity, which memers joked defined the brevity of the journey. As anticipated, Perry confirmed she would write a track concerning the expertise, which nobody requested for.
Besides she continues to be on the mat. (screenshot by way of X)
Perry additionally took the sans-gravity alternative to announce the setlist for her upcoming world “Lifetimes” tour. That PR stunt additionally flopped when followers realized that the listing she held up on a tiny paper butterfly was illegible.
When she landed, Perry mentioned she’d wished to “model courage and worthiness and fearlessness,” and in an earlier interview with the Related Press final week, the web cringed because the pop star mentioned she had been excited to “learn more about STEM and just the math about what it takes to accomplish this type of thing.”
We had been anticipating somewhat extra. (screenshot by way of X)
Not solely had been the passengers of Blue Origin’s flight celebrities, however on the bottom, Oprah Winfrey and a choice of the Kardashians commemorated the flight. Oprah seemed as much as the sky from the launch website with a saccharine gaze, palms to her face; as some customers on-line identified, the potential for a brand new Oprah meme may be one of the best factor to come back out of this entire factor.
ORPAH! It isn’t that deep! (screenshot by way of X)
As Guardian opinion author Zoe Williams put it, “It’s framed as a feminist statement, and I guess we’re supposed to rejoice that space is no longer pale, male and stale.”
“But something about the randomness of the guest list, coupled with the fact that they all have such nice hair, just … I don’t know … gives an impression of the gender that’s a bit incomplete,” Williams wrote.
Hillary! What are you doing in House? (screenshot by way of X)
Katy Perry’s choice to pop into area appears to have stemmed extra from a want to safe the “highest highs” than an obligation to avoid wasting the world. Some self-awareness would have been good. Maybe she took her personal lyrics somewhat too critically:
’Trigger, child, you’re a firework … Make ’em go, “Oh, oh, oh”As you shoot throughout the sky …
Man, I believed she was going to be there for not less than a pair hours. (screenshot by way of Bluesky)
And I belong to all three classes. (screenshot by way of Bluesky)
And let’s hope it’s longer than her incoming track. (screenshot by way of X) 
Child, you’re a firework! (screenshot by way of X)
The outfits had been fairly good, although. (screenshot by way of X)
A easy commentary. (screenshot by way of X)
I want they’d employed this stylist for at this time’s launch. (screenshot by way of Bluesky)
Get me her publicist! (screenshot by way of X)
Okay, Jessie J. (screenshot by way of X)
