Martha Stewart Joins the Banter: Mocking All-Female Blue Origin Crew

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."

Perry, author and former journalist Lauren Sanchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyễn, film producer Kerianne Flynn and CBS host Gayle King were on Blue Origin's successful NS-31 flight this week.

The passengers rolled to the launchpad in Rivian electric trucks and took an elevator up to board the capsule. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, Sanchez's fiancé, personally escorted them to the rocket. The flight lasted about 11 minutes. 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 marked the first all-women space mission since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova's pioneering solitary journey into space in 1963. Tereshkova became the inaugural female astronaut in history.

Bezos was awaiting the crew at the landing site when he stumbled into a tiny hole and nearly ended up with a face plant. Social media circulated this incident repeatedly.

Wrote one X user Excuse me while I watch Jeff Bezos trip a million times.

Criticism -- and defense -- of flight

Criticism started even prior to the women taking flight. On the Today show dated April 3, actress Olivia Munn criticized the event.

Currently, there are numerous vital issues in the world. Munn said on the show "What’s the purpose? Are you all just going for a ride because it’s considered historic? In my opinion, it seems rather indulgent.”

For an unknown reason, the fast-food franchise Wendy’s, famous for its clever social media posts, directed playful jabs at Perry following her landing. Initially, Wendy’s posted a tweet targeting her. "Can we send her back?"

The company also tweeted a photo After Perry returned to Earth, he was seen kissing the ground and someone added the caption "I kissed the ground and I enjoyed it." (The line from Perry’s 2008 song “I Kissed a Girl” included the lyrics "I kissed a girl and I liked it.")

Next, when an additional X user inquired, “She was just up there for about 10 minutes, correct?” Wendy’s replied sardonically, “Don’t underestimate her; it lasted 11 minutes.”

However, the women justified their escape.

“I won’t allow anyone to take away our happiness, but mostly everyone is genuinely thrilled and supporting us enthusiastically, recognizing how significant this mission is for young women, girls, and boys alike,” King stated during a press briefing following their return.

And Bowe, the aerospace engineer, supported the scientific aspects of the journey.

Bowe stated, 'We made progress in science today. With the data we gathered using Blue Origin, more individuals will have the opportunity to conduct significant research. Our study was not limited to plant biology; we also explored aspects of human physiology and added to our understanding of women’s health. Currently, we are motivating people around the globe.'

See Katy Perry explore outer space

The New Shepard space vehicle took off from West Texas around 8:30 a.m. Central Time on Monday. Watch the mission again via Blue Origin's Livestream archive footage. YouTube .

Is New Shepard capable of reaching outer space?

An active discussion revolves around what constitutes being in outer space. While most people concur that the International Space Station resides in space, activities such as those conducted by Blue Origin aboard their rockets remain somewhat ambiguous. A key reference point for defining this boundary is the Kármán line, which lies approximately 62 miles above the Earth’s surface.

NASA recognizes While there isn’t a distinct dividing line separating Earth’s atmosphere from outer space, many scientists consider the Kármán Line as the threshold for entering space. Therefore, unless someone wants to debate minutiae, Perry and the rest of them had a short trip to space during their journey.

After the spacecraft crossed the Karman line, the women felt weightless. The journey back concluded with a soft touchdown of the capsule aided by parachutes.

This marked the 11th crewed mission of the New Shepard program. Blue Origin has now sent 52 individuals to space, including a star from "Star Trek." William Shatner , Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Bezos.

Initially released on April 18, 2025 at 2:22 PM Pacific Time.