James Cross and incumbent Lance Redmon won the two Katy ISD board of trustees positions. (Kelly Schafler/Community Impact) Kelly joined Community Impact Newspaper as a reporter in June 2017 after majoring in print journalism and creative writing at the University of Houston. In March 2019, she transitioned to editor for the Lake Houston-Humble-Kingwood edition and began covering the Spring and Klein area as well in August 2020. In June 2021, Kelly was promoted to South Houston managing editor. KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) - James Cross defeated incumbent Victor Perez with 58% of the vote in the Katy ISD school board race and Lance Redmon won re-election over challengers Tammy Reed and Kris Fields with 75% of the vote.  CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News)—Katy city voters rejected five proposed city charter amendments, according to unofficial returns Saturday. The proposed amendments were supported by Ward A Council Member Dan Smith, Ward B Council Member Rory Robertson, and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris. Neither Smith nor Robertson were immediately available for comment Saturday night, but Harris said he was proud citizens took the time to learn about the charter and vote for how they wanted their local government to function and operate. “I respect the vote of the people, that is democracy,” Harris said. Charter Proposition A would have enabled the mayor pro tem to keep his or her vote at a council meeting, but remove veto authority, when presiding in the absence of the mayor. Charter Proposition B would no longer have required the immediate resignation of a mayor should he or she choose to seek another office if the unexpired mayoral term is less than one year and 30 days. Charter Proposition C would no longer have required the immediate resignation of a council member should he or she choose to seek another office if the unexpired council term is less than one year, 30 days. Charter Proposition D would have removed the mayor’s right to unilaterally fire department heads by giving those department heads the right to appeal to city council and giving council members the right to reinstate those individuals against the wishes of the mayor. Charter Proposition E would lengthen city council members’ total possible time in office from six years to 12 by increasing term limits from two three-year terms to four three-year terms, inclusive of time served. The amendments drew opposition not only for what they proposed, in particular extending the term limits, but for how they came to be on the ballot in the first place. Every four years, the Katy City Charter requires the appointment of a charter review commission, whose job is to review proposed charter changes and make recommendations to the council for placement on the ballot. The city council then approves or rejects those proposals. The commission, led by former Mayor Skip Conner, made no recommendations for charter amendments this year. But the council has the right under the charter to put amendments on the ballot without going through the commission, though this is not the standard practice and has not happened at least in recent memory. Mayor Dusty Thiele, who won re-election Saturday, said at the time he felt the amendments should have gone through the commission and that he opposed the amendments. All the former Katy mayors also disagreed both with the amendments and how the commission was bypassed. Conner and former Mayor Chuck Brawner, who were both active in organizing opposition to the amendments, were not immediately available for comment Saturday. Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownKaty Perry Joked About Her Botox In Response To An Onion Headline It's Not GreatThe parody publication joked that she would soon release a song called "Stop Making Fun of Me." A new social media trend has entered the stratosphere in the wake of the pop star's controversial space expedition Jessica is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly AwardsSUBSCRIBECONTACTMore Celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year with the best Margarita's in Katy. Our readers have spoken. Don't miss these great drinks! It's Cinco de Mayo and Katy has you handled on the best Margaritas! Where are you going? Many popular places are running specials.  Ray's Mexican Restaurant 870 S Katy Magazine readers overwhelmingly say that Ray's has the best margaritas in Katy Ambrizia has quickly found it's way to Katy hearts and bellies Their margaritas that vary from sweet to spicy are great compliments to the traditional Mexican cuisine but Necas has Mezcal an iconic drink of Mexico Lupe Tortilla is always mentioned when asked about where to find the best 'Ritas Visit them online to pre-order while supplies last. Family owned since 2004, Las Mananitas has three locations in Katy, Cypress and Richmond. They are known for incredible margaritas. Enjoy the popular Chipotle Pineapple Margarita or order a signature margarita on Cinco de Mayo. Don't miss the variety of Margaritas along with some of the best Mexican food in Katy! Katy Magazine readers say this is the best enjoy a variety of style including the popular Mango Margarita made with real ingredients Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with an ALL DAY happy hour on May 5 enjoy 20% off meals on Sundays with proof of a church program El Jarrio has some great 'ritas to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with #CentralGreenPark #PrimroseSchools editor@katymagazine.com sales@katymagazine.com CARRIE Underwood was NOT the first pick to be American Idol’s newest judge as the network had eyes on an A-list pop star The decision was “not unanimous” to have the country singer take the place of Katy Perry when she stepped onto the panel for season 23 of the reality competition Carrie, 42, has made a polarizing splash after being cast in the trio of superstar judges for season 23 of American Idol While many viewers “love” the Before He Cheats singer and gush she’s a “breath of fresh air” others have been less impressed by her performance as a judge It seems the divide began long before Carrie stepped foot on the Idol stage as producers and network execs were also not all on the same page about hiring her Carrie was “not the network’s first pick to be a judge this season.” “It was not a unanimous decision,” the insider added Before Carrie was officially offered the coveted Idol judges seat, her co-star, Luke Bryan, revealed who he thought should step in to fill Katy's shoes. “I’ve said several names. I think Pink has been in the talks, Miley Cyrus has been in the talks, Meghan Trainor has been in the talks. I think Disney is just trying to figure out what they want to do "And we’re just kind of sitting back and waiting until they decide,” Luke previously told Billboard Luke also expressed doubt that the person who was hired to fill in for Katy would be able to pull it off the same way she did “Katy was really perfect for that job and I think they’re just working real hard to find somebody that can really come in and do the job that Katy did," Luke admitted After causing some controversy during her time on the show, Carrie could be "one and done" with being a judge and may not return While it’s “too early” for casting next season and “no decisions” have been made for season 24’s judging panel the show will have an idea of who will be back “soon."  “They'll have more of an idea in the next month or so everyone thought [Carrie] would be back next year it's much more up in the air,” the source claimed The previous American Idol winners include: They added: “Her Idol future is much more uncertain now than it was and I think that feeling is mutual “She seems miserable being away from her family and in LA this much “I don't think she wants to have to answer to TV networks and play the 'Hollywood' game so it wouldn't be a surprise if she's one and done no decisions have been made yet from either side."  This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This run through the streets of Old Town Katy starts at No Label Brewing Co and finishes with a souvenir pint class and four 8-ounce tastings from the brewery’s taps Asia joined Community Impact in February 2022 She studied journalism and creative writing at Missouri State University Asia was a reporter for the Seattle Medium one of the city's eldest African American publications Bagels will open its first location in the Katy area later this year Kelly joined Community Impact Newspaper as a reporter in June 2017 after majoring in print journalism and creative writing at the University of Houston she transitioned to editor for the Lake Houston-Humble-Kingwood edition and began covering the Spring and Klein area as well in August 2020 Kelly was promoted to South Houston managing editor CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News) — Katy city voters overwhelmingly re-elected Dusty Thiele over challenger Michael Payne Thiele was not immediately available for comment Saturday night Payne conceded the race in a social media statement "Although Mayor Thiele won by a landslide in his re-election bid where I extend my congratulations and officially concede the race results aren't all bad as Props A and E failed and my vote share smashed what little expectations many had," Payne wrote was making his first bid for elected office He said he would continue to stay involved when he could and hinted with Council Member-at-Large Chris Harris and Ward B Council Member Rory Robertson leaving the city council next year due to term limits he is looking at a possible candidacy for either of those seats "We all hope there's more critical thinking about what's really best for the city of Katy because we've been on a slippery slope that only strong leadership can straighten out," Payne said Council Member-at-Large Chris Harris congratulated Thiele on his victory "I'm looking forward to continuing on public safety stormwater drainage and mobility for the citizens of Katy," Harris said Thiele is the first Katy mayor to win reelection since Fabol Hughes who was re-elected to a second term in 2015 Mayor Chuck Brawner was defeated by Bill Hastings when he sought re-election and Hastings decided not to run for a second term Thiele won his first election without opposition in 2022 The Katy City Council is expected to certify the final results and then Thiele will be sworn in for his second term CITY OF KATY (Covering Katy News) – The early vote is in and Mayor Thiele has a commanding lead while all of the propositions appear headed for defeat "Dusty" Thiele has reclaimed his seat against challenger Michael Anthony Payne Aubrey joined Community Impact as a reporter in February 2024 she served as Editor-in-Chief at Insite Brazos Valley Magazine in Bryan She also served as the news editor at The Battalion before graduating with a major in journalism and minors in business and sports management in 2022 Aubrey enjoys spending time with her friends James Cross and incumbent Lance Redmon won the two Katy ISD board of trustees positions When perusing Ticketmaster seat maps for Perry's "Lifetimes" tour which kicked off this week in Mexico City and will come to the US in just a few weeks it's clear that folks are not vibing with the "I Kissed A Girl" songstress and her recent space shenanigans on Jeff Bezos' New Shepard rocket In Minneapolis, it's even worse: only one third of the 20,000 seats at the Twin Cities' Target Center have been filled — and those are even cheaper at $75 a pop with fees included Still, it seems obvious that the widely criticized Blue Origin flight did no favors for the "Woman's World" singer who has struggled to regain relevancy over the past decade In an interview with the Daily Mail an unnamed insider claimed that things are as tumultuous behind the scenes of the "Lifetimes" tour as they appear in public "There were already concerns about poor ticket sales even before Blue Origin," the source told the tabloid Katy truly believed her tour would take off like Taylor [Swift's 'Eras' tour]." According to that same insider, "higher-ups" at Live Nation, which is owned by Ticketmaster in an alleged monopoly were always skeptical that Perry could sell out stadiums — and there are now "talks about what to do if the venues don't fill up further." Instead of just being content with her status as one of the United States' richest self-made women Perry is intent on recapturing the magic she made with hits like "Firework" and "Ur So Gay" in the late 2000s and early 2010s More on Perry's bad press: Katy Perry's Camp Demanding Apology From Wendy's for Shading Her Pointless Rocket Launch Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service After Katy Perry sparked controversy by participating in Blue Origin's all-female space launch the "E.T." singer seemingly reacted to the mixed reaction their mission received Katy Perry's critics are hearing her roar One week after the "Dark Horse" singer joined five other women on the all-female Blue Origin space launch During her space-inspired concert in Mexico City April 23 "Has anyone ever called your dreams crazy?" But her nods to her journey beyond the Earth's stratosphere—which included Gayle King and film producer Kerianne Flynn—didn't end there In fact, she called up two fans who arrived in blue spacesuits for her Lifetimes tour. As she explained to the audience "I want these gentlemen to come on stage because they are dressed like my most current timeline." For Katy, her major expedition was a lifelong goal. Indeed, she told Elle ahead of the April 14 launch that she "wanted to go to space for almost 20 years." "I was investigating all of the possible commercial options," she added "Even when Blue Origin was first talking about commercial travel to space Although she and the all-women crew—which was the first since cosmonaut Valentina Tereshakova's solo mission in 1963—couldn't help but gush over their accomplishment Celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski slammed the mission calling the spectacle "optically looks like progress" for women in science she said that Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos' decision to take his fiancée Lauren "and a few other famous women to space for space tourism is not progress." this just speaks to the fact that we are absolutely living in an oligarchy," she explained in an April 15 TikTok video "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 having dinner for their kids." Despite the glamor that came along with their adventure Gayle clarified that there was work done during the 11-minute experience She told Extra that the "intention" of the mission was "to figure out a way to harness the waste here and put it in space to make the Earth a better place." they get some type of information," she continued and noted that two of the astronauts were "actually doing experiments." Katy isn't the only one dreaming of the stars Read on to see more celebs who are ready to put on their own spacesuit “I don't know how to explain being terrified and excited at the same time,” Gayle King said on CBS Mornings in February when she was announced as a member of Blue Origin’s six-woman New Shepard NS-31 crew scheduled to blast off April 14 “It's like how I felt about to deliver a baby.” The idea was “to open myself up to new adventures and step outside of my comfort zone,” said the 70-year-old cohost her sons and BFF Oprah Winfrey—before signing up for the mission "Once Kirby and Will and Oprah was fine with it when they all come back and you had the opportunity to do it you will be kicking yourself.' She's right." “I was like, 'What am I going to wear?'" Katy Perry told Elle ahead of her Blue Origin flight with King I have wanted to go to space for almost 20 years I was investigating all of the possible commercial options Even when Blue Origin was first talking about commercial travel to space MTV News did report in 2010 that Perry had purchased a $200,000 ticket to board a Virgin Galactic suborbital flight when the company finally got one off the ground “I don’t have any time to be nervous; I ain’t got time to be worried We are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut.” William Shatner was 90 when he went to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket in 2021 the Star Trek alum hightailed it (as fast as floating in zero gravity would let him) to the window black emptiness,” he memorably shared in his book (coauthored with Josh Brandon) Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder upon his return “It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky Everything I had expected to see was wrong.” Which made Shatner appreciate Earth all the more “It reinforced tenfold my own view on the power of our beautiful mysterious collective human entanglement,” he wrote it returned a feeling of hope to my heart.” Wishing King luck ahead of her Blue Origin trip "It's an adventure of a lifetime Something you never done before and you will never do again Lance Bass trained to go to space back in 2002 getting physically in sync with a Russian crew after Dutch-based space tourism company MirCorp arranged with a documentary crew to purchase a $20 million seat for the boy bander aboard a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station But there was an insurance issue a week before launch “If there’s no documentary, there’s no flight, so, very highly disappointed,” he reflected to Space.com in 2023 “but it was still amazing to be able to finish that training.” The ‘NSYNC alum noted that he’d still love to go to the ISS one day but he wasn’t interested in going up “for a few minutes” on a Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic suborbital flight Michael Strahan said going to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket in December 2021 was “almost like an out-of-body experience.” “It’s hard to believe it even happened,” he told his then-ABC News colleague Amy Robach at the time and it detaches and you don't know what's up from down Kim Kardashian’s then-boyfriend Pete Davidson said OK to an invitation to fly gratis alongside five paying customers on the New Shepard in March 2022, but after the flight was delayed, the Saturday Night Live star had to bow out “Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission,” a Blue Origin spokesperson announced “We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming days.” Kardashian—who recalled seeing her parents cry in 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded—admitted that she was initially freaked out “Jeff Bezos invited Pete to go to space,” she said on The Kardashians “I really can’t believe it—that he’s gonna go It seems like such a crazy concept to me.” “and hearing how safe it is and all the testing and everything they do SpaceX founder Elon Musk hasn’t actually flown in one of his company’s crafts yet, but he did say at the International Astronautical Conference in 2016 he hoped they would be ferrying humans to Mars as soon as 2024 He admitted at the time that was an “optimistic” estimate Less optimistic, Musk also said at the time "I think the first journeys to Mars will be really very dangerous He adjusted his goal in September 2024, saying that SpaceX intended to launch an uncrewed Starship to Mars by the end of 2026 with an eye on sending humans to the Red Planet two years after that While moderating a discussion at the White House between then-President Barack Obama and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe in October 2016 Leonardo DiCaprio maybe-joked that he was onboard with the whole Mars thing if you’re a human living on this planet—which most of us are yeah?”  Hayhoe said as they discussed the importance of electing leaders who believe in climate change “As long as we haven’t signed up for the trip to Mars While DiCaprio has never set the record straight on that one way or another he once had plans to hitch a ride on a Virgin Galactic space liner So much so that a seat on the same spacecraft was auctioned off for $1.5 million at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS charity gala—which DiCaprio was present for—during the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said he was “not sure” whether DiCaprio would be on the first official flight or not “We’ve got about 700 people signed up and they’ve been pretty committed,” he told Vulture in 2016 “Some of them have been signed up for as long as ten years since we started the program The VSS Unity eventually achieved the company’s first suborbital space flight in 2018 Branson tweeted that Bieber and his then-manager Scooter Braun had signed up for Virgin Galactic suborbital spaceflights Tom Hanks has been obsessed with space ever since he watched Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968 “It presented this romantic notion of a human being in this place void of life,” the Apollo 13 star told The Guardian in 2023 “I had paid attention to the space program prior to that but I was not hooked by the artistry or the romance of it until I saw that movie.” A month after his mind-blowing cinematic experience he watched a Christmas broadcast of Apollo 8 orbiting the moon “I’m actually seeing the whole Earth on my TV,” he recalled “I am on that planet that is in the picture!” His latest space-centric project is The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks an immersive film about the Apollo missions playing at Space Center Houston And count Hanks among the stars reportedly on the Virgin Galactic standby list Though the Oscar winner said on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2021 that he had turned down a Blue Origin flight opportunity for a very down-to-earth reason “It costs 28 million bucks or something like that,” Hanks cracked Ashton Kutcher also booked future passage with Virgin Galactic but sold his ticket back after a heart-to-heart with Mila Kunis “When I got married and had kids,” he told Cheddar News in July 2021 “my wife basically encouraged that it was not a smart family decision to be heading into space when we have young children.” Prince William won’t be accused of trying to colonize Mars The world should be “fixed on trying to repair this planet,” he told the BBC’s Newscast in 2021 we need to be focusing on this [planet] rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future.” he admittedly preferred to measure altitude in feet "I have absolutely no interest in going that high," William said "I'm a pilot…but I stay reasonably close to the ground I've been up to 65,000 feet once in a plane and that was truly terrifying." I'd love to go to space—it really is the next frontier," Cameron Diaz told InStyle in 2014 “Humans have to move off this planet at some point And I surrender to everything bigger than me Starring in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus didn’t turn Michael Fassbender off the idea of really going to space even if no one can hear you scream out there “If I had a chance to go into space, I’d definitely take it,” he told W in 2012 Fassbender’s Prometheus costar Charlize Theron “If space is not the world of Ridley Scott I still have a little scar from it.” And considering she knew what was going to happen already “That says a lot about how pathetic I am,” she continued “I don’t think I’m made of the right stuff for space.” After reports surfaced that Paris Hilton booked a passage on Virgin Galactic in 2008 (10 years before a flight took place) she said in an interview that she was actually quite scared "What if I don't come back?" Hilton mused She never made the trip, but interviewing Branson on This Is Paris in 2021 she revealed that her now-husband Carter Reum had told her he bought a ticket to ride to try to enable many people who are listening to this program to go to space and try to drive the price down,” Branson said “This was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman,” a source tells PEOPLE HANDOUT/BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty; Brandon Bell/Getty Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis As stupid as I thought it would be, it was even stupider. It was one thing to understand intellectually that Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Lauren Sánchez’s much hyped “all-female” trip to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket would in actuality only be an underwhelming 11 minutes long But it was another to watch it play out over a multihour breathless livestream that culminated with Perry kissing the Earth like a soldier returning from war and not a multimillionaire returning from the world’s shortest influencer trip If this flight is to have any world-historical significance it will be for achieving previously uncharted levels of tastelessness all right—space in our psyches that we will never get back We’ll just ignore that the writing was so small that no one could actually read it Perry magnanimously chose to serenade her fellow astronauts on the trip not with one of her own songs but with “What a Wonderful World,” though even that would have had me reaching for the emergency exit hatch Bezos gave her a big hug and reminded her that now she was free to go see her “babies,” which I assume meant her kids She clearly has that man eating out of the palm of her hand Sánchez reflected on her time looking down at the Earth: “You look at this As befitting any rich-people event, Oprah was on hand to watch her best friend King participate in the flight; she teared up as it happened. Several Kardashians were there too, as was Orlando Bloom and the young daughter he shares with Perry, Daisy—Perry brought a daisy on board the flight in her honor. Sánchez, for her part, brought a stuffed animal inspired by a character in her children’s book Did Perry crib that kissing-the-Earth move from Gravity Poor King managed to carry herself with almost the exact same seriousness as the oil riggers–turned–astronauts in Armageddon before they leave on an extremely dangerous operation to destroy an asteroid She was the only one who looked scared ringing a bell on her way to the shuttle before the flight and they reminded me above all of an entertainment property that has ostensibly nothing to do with space: Netflix’s Selling Sunset a reality show about real estate where the agents celebrate their sales by ringing an oversize bell in the offices of Los Angeles’ Oppenheim Group They too just so happen to be a boldly dressed all-female team backed by an extremely rich bald man Appealing women turn out to be an asset whether you’re selling houses or recreational trips to space I also think it’s an apt comparison in that I believe there’s a good chance the cast of Selling Sunset will have roughly the same level of impact on future women in STEM as the women on this Blue Origin trip Hawking space travel for rich people at a time like this Who knows if that will have any impact on Bezos’ ability to sell tickets to space (which reportedly go for upward of a million bucks apiece) but it’s nice to know the greater public sees this as more of a crash and burn than anything else This week's flight of the New Shepard spacecraft and its all-female crew has stirred up a mess of coverage from tabloids to high-brow journalism outlets Because yet another suborbital flight on New Shepard matters little in the long arc of spaceflight history I did not want to be too negative about someone else's happiness this flight and its breathless promotion made me uncomfortable Perhaps the most important change in spaceflight over the last two decades has been the rise of commercial spaceflight which is bringing down the cost of access to space and marks an essential step to humanity becoming a spacefaring species This rising tide has been spurred in large part by billionaires In the summer of 2021, Branson and Bezos took flights on their own rockets This fueled the "boys and their toys" and "billionaire joyrides" public perception of commercial spaceflight My issue with the NS-31 flight is that it perpetuates this perception an all-women flight is definitely not boys and their toys One can imagine that she wanted some attention on her flight But the resulting spectacle trivializes the important work of commercial space I decided that Ars Technica should sit this one out If Bezos wanted to send his fiancée and some friends into space That was pretty much how things stood until Thursday evening, when the Secretary of the US Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy, shared some thoughts on the social media site X "The last FAA guidelines under the Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program were clear: Crewmembers who travel into space must have 'demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety or contributed to human space flight safety,'" Duffy wrote "The crew who flew to space this week on an automated flight by Blue Origin were brave and glam They do not meet the FAA astronaut criteria." So there it was: The leading US official on transportation declaring that Perry et For starters the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency within the US Department of Transportation Duffy leads, has previously said it will take no part in determining whether people who fly on suborbital flights are astronauts. The agency makes this clear on its human spaceflight page stating: "The FAA no longer designates anyone as an ‘astronaut.’ In addition the FAA does not define where space begins." the FAA created a commercial "Astronaut Wings" program back in 2004 to recognize the two pilots of SpaceShipOne who flew the vehicle above 50 statute miles (80 km) the program recognized private citizens who flew on Virgin Galactic's Unity spacecraft "With the advent of the commercial space tourism era the Federal Aviation Administration will now recognize individuals who reach space on its website instead of issuing Commercial Space Astronaut Wings," the agency said "Any individual who is on an FAA-licensed or permitted launch and reaches 50 statute miles above the surface of the Earth will be listed on the site." Sanchez, Perry, and the others are recognized on this site today There has been a long-running debate in the space community about whether suborbital space tourists are astronauts or astro-nots Blue Origin has claimed superiority over Virgin Galactic because its vehicle goes above the Kármán line whereas its competitor reaches an altitude of 80 to 90 km Ars dug pretty deeply into this issue in 2019 including speaking to several "real" astronauts from NASA if you strap yourself to a rocket and fly above 80 km then you're an astronaut whether you trained for a few hours Whereas one can differentiate between space tourists and professionals The bottom line is that there is no relevant federal definition of an astronaut Duffy's own agency certainly doesn't claim responsibility for making that designation There are a couple of plausible explanations Perry performed at President Biden's inauguration and later campaigned alongside Kamala Harris this could simply be a Trump-appointed official taking a shot at a celebrity aligned with Democrats It might also be an offshoot of the Elon Musk and Bezos rivalry It is not too difficult to imagine the SpaceX people in Duffy's orbit pointing out the murky waters around the definition of an astronaut Regardless, it's not really his call. You may not like Perry's music or her association with Dr. Luke But if she wants to call herself an astronaut along with the many other amazing women who have only reached space in the last few years because of the suborbital space tourism vehicles developed by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic I find it much better to live in a world where space tourism is actually happening and several other formidable women whom the media have largely ignored because of the morbid fear that Jeff Bezos might be propelling a major pop star and Oprah’s BFF to certain death What it did accomplish: unifying the Olivias (Munn and Wilde) in a public shaming of their celebrity sisters for the “gluttonous” space ride that distracts and siphons resources from real issues facing mankind You would think that would be as harsh as it could possibly get when it comes to the Katy Perry pile-on. But then again, no one expected fast-food chain Wendy’s to enter the fray The burger slinger’s X account posted “Can we send her back?,” inciting a whole news cycle including a response from insiders “close” to Perry decrying the bullying from the House of Frosty one could say Wendy’s finally “found the beef.” (Ba-dum-ching!) But why is it Perry who is the focus of this ill-will Unlike Perry, who is now, thanks to Blue Origin, “excited to learn more about STEM,” I am neither scientific nor mathematical But I am well-versed in the practice of something else: gauging vibes at least online and among cultural obsessives with each successive “flop” record becoming a meme about how she doesn’t make good music anymore The lead single off her latest record, “Woman’s World,” was mocked as a laughably obtuse—and unlistenable—attempt to capitalize on a Kamala Harris-led feminist moment. The rumor that Perry offered the song to Harris to use for her campaign only added to the humiliation—which the cruel internet in turn celebrated Generally, though, as her music career has stagnated, Perry has projected a mixture of excessive enthusiasm and dire desperation, a combination that can only be described as the most lethal of Very Online words: “cringe.” So a much maligned spaceflight on top of that? Perry herself was laying up the ball for everyone to dunk on her. (Did I do that sports metaphor right?) We want our popstars woke. They need to serve bops and demand social justice simultaneously, or else feel our wrath. Whatever good work Perry has done on those fronts over her career, taking a billion-dollar trip to space on a rocket funded by the left’s Dr. Evil, Jeff Bezos, squashes it. Worse, she isn’t even giving us good music while she does it. All it takes is one good song to salvage a pop star’s reputation we all know how this controversy is going to end: Katy Perry starring in a Wendy’s Super Bowl commercial set in outer space Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Kevin Fallon is the editor of The Daily Beast's Obsessed He is co-president of the TV branch of the Critics Choice Association on the board of directors of the Television Critics Association and is a member of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association assuming you are referring to the painting contractor from Long Island given that she’s probably the first person ever to say those words in that particular order and reading about string theory as she dozed off Kardashian said: “Whatever you dream of is in our reach you could maybe be amongst them.”​ Whatever you dream is in our reach—nice This whole thing certainly speaks to me as a woman with great ambition Any time I have written a sentence that feels true or on days I’ve run a faster 5k than ever before I have had but one wish: “If I looked beautiful right now everything would be perfect.” That wish is always followed by a second one: “I wish there was glam in space.” And now and that is why we need to get every woman into space as soon as possible I wish I could raise my eyebrows incredulously on a few Zoom calls this week and tell my coworkers “Katy Perry going to space was not on my 2025 bingo card.” But a pop star floating in zero gravity on a mission funded by Jeff Bezos while the rest of us guess at what economic downturn or fascist political maneuver will strike next…is exactly how I saw this year unfurling nothing is at stake and nothing ever has to change The money spent on launching the missile into space has no other possible use because the issues women face on Earth are an afterthought This trip is also kind of the next logical step for Perry’s career If I had written a few perfect songs in 2010 had never been able to replicate their magic and was somehow worth $350 million dollars I would probably also embark on a quest for meaning in the journeywork of the stars Would I be honest with myself and admit to the world that this was just a million dollar carnival ride dissembling as a publicity stunt that we are not space revolutionaries but rather celebs in couture trying to milk a few days of earned media paid for by Amazon 2025Carrie Underwood has joined those who are piling on Katy Perry after she was part of the recent all-female celebrity-filled Blue Origin space flight The two singers have both served as judges on American Idol Underwood also launched her career on the show as a contestant who won Season 5 of the singing competition in 2005 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 During a recent interview with Access Hollywood, which has been posted on TikTok was asked about Perry’s recent short journey into space “The day I go into space is when the good Lord decides my time on Earth here is done and he takes me home,” she said “That’ll be the day I leave this Earth,” she added ‘Get out the capsule.’ It’s not that anything was going to go wrong It’s just that I don’t like the phrase The 75-year-old music legend went on to poke some fun at himself “Lionel Richie is having trouble navigating Earth and gravity Just walking straight everyday is a taunting task at this point in my life When the interviewer commented that he’s probably not going to take a trip to space any time soon “I’ve been in space since 1976 The onetime frontman of 1970s stars the Commodores went on to shout of some of the names of his band’s funky contemporaries at the time “Am I going to go to space?” Richie added “I’m trying to come back from space!” The all-female Blue Origin flight on Monday broke boundaries and set records in the spouting of girlboss gibberish Well, I watched every second of the buildup, flight and aftermath of the first Blue Origin all-female space trip. You’ve heard of one small step for man? This was one giant leap backwards for womankind. I’m kidding, I’m kidding! What could be more empowering or something than watching Lauren Sánchez make going to space sound like brunch with the girrrrrls. Sally Ride could never Given the mixture of freebie rides and seats sold to the super-rich, the thing people always say about Blue Origin tickets is that prices range from zero to $28m dollars A bit like a seat on a RyanAir flight to Tallinn But these spots were all personally gifted by Bezos and Sánchez because this was an Important Mission Which also meant the whole thing was exclusively documented by Blue Origin’s Pravda-like web channel the anchors and reporters kept explaining that – unlike when men went to space in the past – this mission was all about emotions it’s great that we’re valorising emotions above all things because it gives me permission to say how very much I hated this entire Lauren already bills herself as a children’s author and kept being told she was adding “astronaut” to the world’s longest multi-hyphenate “I can’t put it into words but I looked out the window and we got to see the moon.” Back at the viewing platform in the West Texas desert Kris Jenner and a bottom-tier Kardashian (Khloé) Khloé glossed the moment of landing with the words: “it’s literally so hard to explain right now” “There’s one woman whose grandfather is back there and he is 92 and they didn’t even have transportation back then.” I mean Katy Perry kisses the ground on her return to Earth Photograph: BLUE ORIGIN/AFP/Getty ImagesAmid extremely stiff competition the most hardcore gibberish emanated from Perry who served up an entire word salad bar involving the “feminine divine” and being “super-connected to love” “It’s about making space for future woman,” she explained “It’s about taking up space.” Imagine going to actual space and talking instead about therapy-speak “space” When Buzz Aldrin beheld the surface of the moon he described it as “magnificent desolation” if he wanted to feel desolation he could have just tuned into this corner of West Texas on Monday afternoon When a Stem advocate came for her post-flight interview we got to see the apparently lobotomised reporter shriek: “How do you look perfect after just going to space?!” I always thought space travel was futuristic but this was the first time it came off as travelling back in time in this case using their little capsule to take us back to the most ludicrous inanities of 2010s girlboss feminism it felt like a sign of the times that everything was about personal growth rather than affording any new understanding of wider humanity As King put it: “I’m so proud of me right now.” Everyone talked in whatever trite solipsism language has been reduced to by a permanent diet of social media self-care It all made me realise how much I miss humans not permanently crying on TV and being able to find words that don’t sound like they could be printed above a picture of a crossroads sign on Instagram Why do I feel like the most meaningful thing to come out of this will be a three-minute song called Space Cowgirl opened the capsule door to welcome the all-female crew back to Earth The first to leave the capsule was his fiancé Lauren Sánchez ShareSaveCould this faraway world be home to life?Researchers studying planet K2-18b's atmosphere have detected signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms. Partial eclipse darkens sky over UK and abroadThe eclipse won't be total anywhere in the world, but parts of Canada will come close. 'A lot of panic': Tourists caught up in Bangkok earthquakePeople in nearby Bangkok have reacted after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar. Strong tremors were felt in Thailand as well as parts of China. Strange spiral seen in the sky - BBC explains what it wasOn Monday, stargazers may have noticed an unusual sight in the sky above the UK. Watch: LA sees first sign of partial lunar eclipseThe Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles is live streaming its view of the celestial treat. First beavers from Scotland released in EnglandBeavers captured from Scotland are released into the wild in England for the first time. Watch: Rare planetary parade caught on camera by our expert stargazersThree astronomers tell the BBC what planets are on display in the sky above the UK this week. Watch: Tourists warned to stay away from Mount Etna lavaItalian authorities say people have been injured after venturing too close to the red-hot lava. Forecast: More stormy weather ahead as Herminia approachesBBC weather presenter Ben Rich has the latest update as a new storm approaches the UK. Watch: SpaceX loses Starship on test flightWatch: SpaceX loses Starship spacecraft but catches booster on seventh test flight Lift-off for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocketThe mission was partially successful after the booster that propelled the rocket into space failed to land on a platform in the ocean. Major snowstorm covers beaches and brings skiers out in DCStorm Blair has brought freezing temperatures across the East Coast and Midwest US. BBC reports from snowy Leeds amid weather warningsAmber weather warnings are in force and travel disruption is expected in some parts of the UK, as snow continues to fall. Watch: ISS crew sends Christmas greetings from spaceAstronauts on the International Space Station send a festive message from orbit, some 250 miles (400km) above Earth. Weather forecast as Storm Darragh brings wind and rainElizabeth Rizzini has the latest forecast as Storm Darragh eases but continues to bring strong winds. Downed trees and wild seas as Storm Darragh hits UKA van driver has been killed by a fallen tree, as Storm Darragh brings strong winds and heavy rain. High winds cause 'absolute carnage' in townRoads are closed, trees are uprooted and buildings are damaged amid reports of a tornado on Thursday. Latest forecast as Storm Bert brings floods and galesBBC Weather's Ben Rich has the latest forecast as the storm continues to bring challenging weather conditions across the UK. Storm Bert brings rain and high winds on SundayThe Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning until 07:00 on Sunday for some parts of Scotland Blue Origin has launched Jeff Bezos’ fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King This image provided by Blue Origin shows from left: Jeff Bezos director of Blue Origin’s astronaut office from left: Lauren Sanchez and Kerianne Flynn and standing in back from left: Amanda Nguyen This image taken from video provided by Blue Origin shows the New Shepard rocket blasting off in West Texas This combination of 2025 file photos shows a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist invited the others along for the 10-minute packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and “CBS Mornings” co-host King Perry said she couldn’t resist singing “What a Wonderful World” in space Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe a former NASA engineer who started her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence It was the 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon Bezos strapped in for Blue Origin’s first space tourist flight in 2021 and accompanied the latest crew to the pad The celebrity launch was the nation’s first spaceflight where women filled each seat The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was back in 1963 That’s when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched by herself Tereshkova spent three days off the planet women represent barely 15% of the more than 700 people who have traveled into space Sanchez said she deliberately chose women to launch with her each of them eager to inspire both the young and old to dream big and even commissioned special flight suits The launch brought out VIPs to West Texas including Oprah Winfrey; Kris Jenner and other members of the Kardashian family; former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison who became the first Black woman in space in 1992; and several women who previously have flown on private flights wiped away tears when the capsule reached space and the passengers were heard marveling at the moon and shouting with joy As the women were buckling up for the ride back she resisted singing “Roar” or her other tunes and instead chose “What a Wonderful World.” It’s not about singing my songs,” Perry said following the flight It’s about us.” At a news conference later Bezos opened the capsule’s hatch minutes after touchdown Perry and King kneeled and kissed the ground who considers herself an anxious airplane flyer Sanchez said she was still trying to process everything “Profound is like the one word I would use,” she said This wasn’t the first Blue Origin launch with marquee names “Star Trek” actor William Shatner caught a lift to space with Blue Origin in 2021 at age 90 He was followed by former New York Giants defensive end and TV host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard Two aviation pioneers who missed out on space when they were younger — Wally Funk and Ed Dwight — also rocketed away at ages 82 and 90 Most of Blue Origin’s passengers — 58 counting the latest launch — have been business or science types The Russian Space Agency also has launched its share of space tourists beginning with a California financier in 2001 a Russian actress filmed aboard the International Space Station Elon Musk’s SpaceX also sells multi-day trips to private customers billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman already has launched twice and performed the first private spacewalk He’s now set to become NASA’s next administrator if confirmed by the Senate Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang just returned from the first spaceflight to carry people over the north and south poles Wang picked up the whole SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for an undisclosed sum “In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” Wang said via X last week The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content Russell Brand made a rare comment about his relationship with Katy Perry including why their marriage ultimately didn’t work out Russell Brand will never be forgetting Katy Perry when the 49-year-old looks back at his two-year marriage to the “Dark Horse” singer “What can I tell you is, when I was married to Katy Perry, she's like a­—not entirely normal, because she's an extraordinary, massive star­—but she's not weird or off key,” Russell said during his podcast Stay Free with Russell Brand April 3 “And wasn't involved in anything nefarious “The reasons that a marriage didn't work are the normal human reasons marriages don't work The Get Him to the Greek star did also note they had their differences “I obviously disagree with her political views,” Russell added, “but I probably disagree with some of my wife's political views, my beloved wife, Laura Brand’s political views Since their 2012 split, both Russell and Katy—who shares daughter Daisy Dove, 4, with fiancé Orlando Bloom—have made the rare comment about their brief time together For his part, Russell has previously addressed being married to someone whose fame eclipsed his own "Some aspects of it were amazing—she's an amazing person," Brand shared during his appearance on the Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge in 2023 "It was kind of incredible to live for a moment in that eye of a cyclone type aspect of fame." he also acknowledged the relationship was both hot and cold "Aside from my feelings of affection for Katy it's a time that I remember as being a little bit chaotic and a bit "Life humbles us and teaches us and the journey is not always easy." Katy, meanwhile, has also alluded to a certain level of disarray during that period of her life 24 and 25 and then I met someone that was interesting and stimulating," she shared on 60 Minutes Australia in 2020 it was everything happening at once." She noted she has “always resonated with friction and resistance and challenges." For more Hollywood exes you may have forgotten about Perry opened up about his two-month '90s romance with the Oscar winner which began after Roberts agreed to guest star on Friends under one condition Perry wrote that the Pretty Woman actress "would only do the show if she could be in my story line," adding that he "had to woo her." To do so he sent Roberts three dozen roses and a note that read "The only thing more exciting than the prospect of you doing the show is that I finally have an excuse to send you flowers." But their romance was ultimately shortlived because "dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me," Perry admitted "I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts." We have Drew Barrymore's 2002 birthday bash to thank for this unlikely celeb pairing The Canadian stars even got engaged two years later the co-stars struck up an offscreen romance between 2002-2006 The pair even discussed marriage at one point "I think everybody who has been dating for more than a couple of years probably talks about it at some point It's a fun thing for us to talk about The Devil Wears Prada alum dated the pop singer for three years up until 2008. Seven years later, Bublé denied rumors that a cheating scandal was to blame for their split reality star dated the rapper for a brief period of time in 2006 The That '70s Show actress dated the former child star for almost a decade up until 2011 Their 2000 split caused major tabloid controversy with Heche going on to marry Coleman Laffoon one year later The then-rising stars dated from 2001-2006 Rumor has it that the Dead to Me star ditched her date to the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards who just so happened to be the one and only Mr Pitt The Bleachers singer romanced the Black Widow actress during their high school days The New York Yankees star had the A-lister cheering him on from the stands for several months in 2008 There's no question the former baseball pro has quite the dating history which includes a one-year relationship with the Hollywood actress The A-listers struck up a two-year relationship after working together on the 2007 drama Rendition The Iron Man star's substance abuse issues plagued much of their highly-publicized relationship The hip-hop artist and actress sparked romance rumors after working on the 2018 thriller The Tale but Common would later describe their relationship as strictly platonic Quinto and Groff dated a few years before they broke up in mid-2013 The "Material Girl" songstress briefly dated the former NBA star in 1994 These two became the subject of romance rumors after co-starring in A Time to Kill which ultimately turned into a two-year relationship Asked by Cosmopolitan in 2003 how they managed to stay friends There's a great amount of respect and love No matter where he is in his life or where I am in mine—he could be married—I know we would stay close." 2001's Vanilla Sky brought the A-listers together for a three-year relationship Cruz's rep denied that Scientology played a role in the breakup had found the church courses she took "beneficial." The singer and actress called off their engagement in 2003 but the universe brought them back together when Kidman co-starred in Big Little Lies alongside Kravitz's daughter The trip (which was not without some criticism) lasted just over 10 minutes and brought the crew to the edge of space @nicolasgerardin @nicolasgerardin; BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty Images No disrespect to the pop star or the rest of Blue Origin’s all-female crew but most of them weren’t obvious astronaut material a civil rights activist; CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King; film producer Kerianne Flynn and former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe I cannot help but notice that only two of these women had anything to do with astronauting (Nguyen studied astrophysics and interned at Nasa before becoming an activist) Obviously it’s very staid and 20th century to think that only experts should be allowed in space – yet their absence did suggest the primary purpose of the trip to be tourism rather than research Which in turn suggests that this was a dumb waste of money Which itself makes you wonder just how many of the world’s problems would have to have been solved before space tourism would look like a worthwhile enterprise – hard to put a number on it but significantly more than have been solved today Besides Bowe, the others were selected mainly for their contributions to culture – and again, yay Katy Perry – but also and I guess we’re supposed to rejoice that space is no longer pale 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 It may be one small step for some women; it does not feel like a giant leap for womankind and my tour isn’t visiting that fine city of the east A group of six women returned to Earth from space on Monday the former wife of the Trump cheerleader Russell Brand; and the former Fox news presenter and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez fiancee of Donald Trump’s media lapdog Jeff Bezos who bent Washington Post editorial policy to favour the New American Fascism ™ ® It’s a shame they didn’t fly straight into the heart of the sun The six compliant women were sent to space as a costly PR exercise for Bezos’s commercial space flight ambitions, although Perry said it was actually about “finding the love for yourself” and “feeling that divine feminine”. Tell that to all the women worldwide whom Bezos’s pal Trump’s policies are penalising. Singing idiot. Katy Perry said she kissed a girl and she liked it As Trump rolls back on LGBTQ+ rights I’m surprised the Trump-adjacent Bezos allowed a bi-curious woman into space I suppose discussions of sexual identity don’t matter if they’re mere titillation she is at least less likely to influence vulnerable young people while orbiting the Earth Sánchez, meanwhile, is vice-chairman of Bezos’s Bezos Earth Fund, an environmental group that ended its funding of decarbonisation initiatives in February who denies climate change while simultaneously seeing that a defrosting Greenland offers superb mineral mining opportunities Why are all these wankers so totally and unashamedly full of shit As I drove the Penwith peninsula in search of sacred underground Cornish fogous to decompress in the dead car radio suddenly found a frequency to tell me Perry had sadly survived her Bezos-boosting spaceflight If those women really cared about the future of the planet they’d have sabotaged themselves to discredit Trump’s big tech donor Ostensibly I’m here to see the Tate St Ives exhibition of the mighty 20th-century surrealist Ithell Colquhoun whose greatest works were inspired by the landscapes of Cornwall Colquhoun is indivisible from the land that nurtured her talent and both created works called This Train Don’t Stop Camborne Wednesdays though only one features an impressionistic portrayal of the vulva as twin columns of flame I’m the Ralph McTell of champagne socialist satire Let me take you by the hand.Thirty years ago I’d pick up Colquhoun’s signed books in secondhand shops and wonder at her obscurity Maybe one day I may yet help Bloomsbury’s Museum of Comedy stage that long mooted Jethro retrospective My sister asks why I am not appearing at Norwich Theatre Royal as printed news and trustworthy current affairs television began to wither came to rely on social media to bob us along on its churning sewage-strewn surface Then Trump’s tech bros skewed the algorithms away from liberal content and even agreed to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to appease him I can feel people glazing over as I explain this What does the end of verifiable information matter to them And all politicians are as bad as one another anyway And I realise I sound like that American bloke on acid at a Butthole Surfers gig in 1988 saying The Man is controlling our minds with miniature ear robots and hidden smells all those stoned paranoid imaginings are finally true and it seems the future of facts themselves still nursing a grudge against the kids from their high school who played guitar or drew cool comics accommodated by the likes of Keir Starmer and Katy Perry is the geopolitical equivalent of a football player stuffing the face of the boy who won the spelling competition into the toilet bowl and random Venezuelans with random tattoos I think one routine I wrote about immigration sometime in the early 00s was shared by socials so often it basically gave me a career culminating in the Times calling me the world’s greatest living standup comedian by osmosis writing careers and worthy causes that gained traction in the tiny toilet window between the downturn in print media and the twin horrors of Musk’s annexation of Twitter and Google’s apparent abandonment of its “Don’t Be Evil” mantra would never flourish today The light gleams an instant as Twitter helps Tracey Thorn from Everything But the Girl become a bestselling author I think someone needs to build a new global news network disinvested from media money men and Trump knee-benders using the skills he learned from kickstarting GB News sign up to my monthly mailing list at stewartlee.co.uk to find out if I ever play Norwich Theatre Royal again or whether my permanent absence from eastern England becomes just another victory for the fascist future Stewart Lee tours Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf until spring 2026 with a Royal Festival Hall run in July. Sign up here to be kept up with future developments for ever Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk This article was amended on 22 April 2025. Ithell Colquhoun died in 1988, so 37 years ago, rather than 47 years ago as an earlier version said. This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025. The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media. Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sanchez, Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry and Kerianne Flynn in a portrait for Blue Origin's NS-31 flight. An all-female group, including pop star Katy Perry, went briefly to space for an 11-minute flight on Monday. The criticism that followed has lasted much longer. And it keeps on coming. On Friday, lifestyle expert Martha Stewart posted video of her own 2007 zero-gravity flight on a Boeing 727 aircraft called G-Force One, using a caption that referenced one of Perry's hit songs.  Atop the video of Stewart doing flips in zero gravity, a caption read, "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind?" That's a line from Perry's 2010 No. 1 hit song, Firework. Stewart's Instagram account also posted, "In case you spaced out in 2007, Martha has always been ahead of her time." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Martha Stewart (@marthastewart) The passengers rolled to the launchpad in Rivian electric trucks and took an elevator up to board the capsule Perry sang What a Wonderful World during the flight although choppy audio made it difficult to hear the women at times during the livestream This was the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova's historic solo spaceflight in 1963 Bezos was waiting to greet the crew at the landing site and apparently stepped in a small hole and fell Social media replayed the moment over and over Wrote one X user "Excuse me while I watch Jeff Bezos faceplant a million times." The criticism began even before the women took off "There are so many other things that are so important in the world right now," Munn said on the show Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride The company also tweeted a photo of Perry kissing the ground after returning to Earth and captioned it "I kissed the ground and i liked it." (Perry's 2008 song I Kissed a Girl contained the line "I kissed a girl and I liked it.") "She was only up there for like 10mins right?" the Wendy's account responded snarkily with "don't short change her it was 11 minutes." "I'm not going to let you steal our joy but most people are really excited and cheering us on and realize what this mission means to young women young girls and boys too," King said in a press conference after the return "We advanced science today," Bowe said "More people are going to be able to do meaningful research with Blue Origin because we collected data And it wasn't just plant biology -- we studied human physiology we contributed to the knowledge base of what people know about women We are inspiring the world right now."  The New Shepard spacecraft launched from West Texas at about 8:30 a.m. CT on Monday. Relive the mission through Blue Origin's livestream replay on YouTube Blue Origin's New Shepard launches from Texas There's an ongoing debate about what represents space everyone agrees the International Space Station is in space but commercial rocket rides like what Blue Origin operates fall into a gray zone an imaginary line 62 miles above the Earth's surface So unless you want to get into a nitpicky argument Perry and the others made a brief visit to space during their flight The women experienced weightlessness after the spacecraft passed the Karman line The return trip involved a gentle parachute-assisted landing of the capsule Subscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownEmily Ratajkowski Low-Key Just Said What We Are All Thinking About That Bizarre Katy Perry Space MissionOlivia Wilde is also not amused “And then to try to make it…” Emily continued before trailing off The star’s comments landed incredibly well with the video already racking up more than a quarter of a million likes and thousands of comments with one of the top comments reading: “It’s the opposite of empowering “They acted like it was a win for feminism The money used to send them to space could have been used to actually help women in so many ways,” somebody else wrote While one more exclaimed: “SO UR TELLING ME THERE WAS NO PURPOSE? literally just rich people wanting to say they went to space?? why do you need to tell us about it?" she added at the time and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs.” Olivia also expressed her shock at the women’s past quotes about being excited to travel on the spaceship in full glam “Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind,” she concluded “What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?" The one news story that the entire world cannot stop talking about just keeps going I’m referring to the “historic” all-female Blue Origin space flight which took a crew of six women—including three very famous ladies—to suborbital space and back in less than 11 minutes on Monday calling the event “gluttonous” and “end times shit.” King has since defended her decision to become an astronaut for a day, telling Extra that she wishes “people would do more due diligence” before criticizing them Go to space or go to Blue Origin and see what they do and how they do and then come back and say this is a terrible thing But one of the things they’re trying to do—if you get enough people who are interested it doesn’t have to be that expensive.” She commended herself for inspiring “many girls and women and some guys” to consider going to space and added that she’s “not going to let people steal my joy and steal the joy of what we did or what we accomplished that day.” Sánchez, on her part, told People that she gets “really fired up” by the critics: “I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle Judging by the space explorers’ defensive reactions it seems clear that they were expecting to be applauded for bravely going to space and proving that—to borrow Sánchez’s words—“We’re all in this together,” rather than being made fun of for their cosmic inability to read the room this expedition has proven one thing: The spirit of “Imagine” is still alive and with us The 2020 music video starring Gal Gadot and two dozen of her closest celebrity friends singing John Lennon’s song at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the most fascinating cultural artifacts of the 21st century Intended to be a morale booster as people everywhere were confined in their homes staring down a terrifying disease and an uncertain future the Instagram video instead served as a magnum opus of hollow platitudes and empty gestures Blue Origin’s space stunt is the “Imagine” video of 2025. Far from uniting the world in love for our pale-blue dot, it’s a maddening reminder that some of the most-resourced individuals on the planet—from people with enormous platforms to the woman marrying Jeff Bezos—are happier to use those resources to simply play on rocket ships while streaking greenhouse gases across the sky Katy Perry apparently sang “What a Wonderful World” to her captive audience on the flight—you can’t get any more “Imagine” than that So congratulations are in order to these galactic warriors for their stunning achievement: They have united us once again by finally giving us a worthy successor to the most cringe pop-culture video of the past five years