As Jeff Bezos gleefully celebrates Blue Origin's groundbreaking all-female space mission, the vivacious actress and model Emily Ratajkowski finds herself unmoved by the festivities. On TikTok, she posted a fiery video, lambasting the celebrity-laden space voyage as "an apocalyptic spectacle."
"This isn't just a joke; it's beyond parody," exclaimed the author of My Body, referring to Bezos' funded flight. "You claim to cherish Mother Earth, yet you ascend in a spaceship funded and crafted by a company that's wreaking havoc on our planet."
The brief 11-minute journey, which soared approximately 62 miles above Earth, marked the maiden all-female crewed space flight. Among the esteemed passengers were Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez, singer Katy Perry, TV personality and Oprah's BFF Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
"Gaze upon the troubled state of our world and ponder the immense resources squandered to propel these women into space," continued Ratajkowski. "For what purpose? What was the marketing angle behind this?""I'm utterly disgusted," she concluded.
Within mere hours of posting, her video garnered nearly 900,000 views on TikTok and was swiftly shared across other social media platforms by her followers. The original post amassed close to 2,000 comments, predominantly echoing Ratajkowski's sentiment.
One commentator noted, "A rocket launch emits 200 to 300 tons of carbon dioxide," while another lambasted, "It's the epitome of embarrassment, far from empowering." Another comment read, "That money could have been allocated to numerous marginalized groups—single mothers, foster children, mental health services, terminally ill patients, and more." Another individual wrote, "Nearly 14 million children in the United States face food insecurity annually. Fourteen million children don't know where their next meal will come from, yet Blue Origin's spectacle is deemed impressive."
While the exact cost of Monday's historic flight remains undisclosed, a regular passenger on a Blue Origin rocket would need to shell out $150,000 merely to initiate the booking process.
Ratajkowski isn't the only one skeptical of Blue Origin's publicity stunt. Earlier this month, actress Olivia Munn echoed similar sentiments during her conversation with Jenna Bush Hager on Jenna and Friends. The Your Friends & Neighbors star promptly declared, "So many other pressing matters demand our attention right now" before questioning, "What's the purpose? Is it historic just because you're going on a ride? I believe it's indulgent and wasteful."
