On Instagram, Trace Cyrus, Miley Cyrus's elder brother, unleashed a scathing critique against Katy Perry, accusing her of mimicking his sister's career moves at various junctures. "When Miley chopped off her hair in 2012, turning heads with her pixie cut that left the internet in awe and subsequently bleaching it blonde," Trace recounted, painting a vivid picture.
He then conjured up a fictional dialogue, the first of many in his tirade, between Katy and her advisors: "'We should try that with you, Katy,'" he imagined someone saying. "'Absolutely, let's do it… but maybe tweak it a bit?'" "No, we'll go for the exact same look!" Trace exclaimed.
Indeed, in 2017, Katy did adopt a platinum blonde pixie cut, eventually reverting to her signature long, dark tresses.
But Trace's criticism didn't end there; he also took aim at Katy's musical choices. The singer of "Roar" has faced scrutiny for collaborating with producer Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual assault by Kesha (he has denied the allegations). However, Trace refrained from delving into that controversy, instead focusing on comparing Katy to his sister again. "Miley ventured into working with Mike WiLL Made-It, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J – remember 'J's on my feet?'" Trace reminisced.
As Miley "embarked on a transition towards hip-hop," Trace envisioned Katy's team urging her to follow suit. "'We'll get you in with the hottest group, the Migos,'" he recounted them saying. "'You'll do exactly what Miley did and skyrocket to fame.'" "Guess what? It bloody didn't work," Trace declared. "And then they resorted to some EDM track because EDM was trending. Didn't bloody work either."
Neither Katy nor Miley has responded to Trace's video onslaught, but the two women have maintained a long-standing friendship, dating back to 2008, as noted by E! News, which they've openly discussed.
After his original video gained traction, Trace took to his Instagram Stories to clarify that these were solely his personal views and did not reflect those of his family or anyone else he knows or collaborates with.
In the original footage, he deftly steered clear of direct comparisons to Miley, transitioning seamlessly into his narrative about Katy's career as he perceived it, up until the present moment. Adopting a mock tone attributed to her entourage, he concluded his message with a stark declaration: "Now we're gonna send your a-- to space," he said, his tone laced with irony. "Didn't f--king work. It's not working. It's backfiring. Stop."
Katy and the rest of the all-female crew who ventured into space last week have faced a deluge of criticism for their endeavor, widely deemed as a colossal waste of resources and hopelessly out of touch with reality. Katy, in particular, has borne the brunt of ridicule for her space serenade and her kissing the ground upon returning from the eleven-minute flight.
Even Wendy's took a dig at the pop star, responding to a post that read, "Katy Perry has returned from space," with the official Wendy's X account tweeting, "Can we send her back?" In another playful jab, referencing Perry's hit "I Kissed a Girl," Wendy's tweeted, "I kissed the ground, and I liked it."
Amidst mild backlash against its own tweet, Wendy's clarified, "We always bring a little spice to our socials, but Wendy's has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world talent," failing to offer a direct apology to the singer.
The onslaught of criticism has been relentless, with Katy emerging as the primary target. She was accompanied by Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez, news anchor Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and activist Amanda Nguyen on the brief flight on Monday.
During a post-flight press conference with People, both King and Sánchez struck back at their detractors. "Anybody that's criticizing it doesn't really understand what is happening here," said King, 70, her voice tinged with frustration. Sánchez added, her tone fiery with emotion, sharing her personal journey: "My high school guidance counselor told me that I should pursue cosmetology because she did not think that I would be suited for this field. I went from pre-algebra in community college to two degrees in aerospace engineering to working for NASA to being able to sit on this stage and say it is bigger than the criticism."
Sánchez, King, and Bowe's remarks echoed amidst the fierce online backlash against the rocket launch, with critics branding the flight as tone-deaf, a "vanity project," and a "fever dream."
NS-31 soared into the skies on Monday morning from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in western Texas. The New Shepard reached an altitude of over 60 miles above Earth, with the entire flight spanning eleven minutes, according to Blue Origin, as reported by ABC News. This historic mission marked the first all-female spaceflight since 1963.
