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Of all the pop culture moments that captured our collective consciousness last year, perhaps the most bizarre was Katy Perry being blasted into space.
In February, the pop star announced she would be part of the all-female crew on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space tourism flight.
From the get-go, the singer was subject to intense criticism over her decision to take part, with the backlash only intensifying as liftoff came closer.
While many were incensed that she was working alongside the founder of Amazon, whose working conditions have repeatedly come under scrutiny, others also openly mocked Katy for her surface-level messaging.
Ahead of the flight, Katy said she hoped the journey ‘encourages her daughter and others to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively’, later also jokingly declaring she was keen to ‘put the ass in astronaut’.
Unsurprisingly, her cheeky comment completely crashed and burned.
It’s now been exactly a year since Katy landed back on Earth and infamously planted a kiss on the ground (specifically, dirt); a ‘cringe’ move that was mocked considering she’d only been gone for 11 minutes.
While the mission was billed as historic due to it involving the first all-female space team in 60 years, the wealth and privilege it represented instead overshadowed the mission’s planned positive messaging.
Joining Katy on the flight were Bezos’ partner, author Lauren Sanchez, as well as TV host and journalist Gayle King, NASA aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, research scientist Amanda Nguyen and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.
All were chosen for being ‘storytellers in their own right’ who would then be able to ‘spread what they felt in different ways’.
However, it was Katy who copped most of the flak, with many directing their frustrations over the ‘tone-deaf’ mission at her.
At the time that the crew was announced, Katy released a statement on social media, in which she wrote: ‘If you had told me that I would be part of the first ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn’t grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!
‘I work hard to live my life that way still, and I am motivated more than ever to be an example for my daughter that women should take up space (pun intended).
‘That’s why this opportunity is so incredible — so that I can show all of the youngest & most vulnerable among us to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively. I am honoured to be among this diverse group of celestial sisters.’
Much of the criticism took aim at how ‘pointless’ and ‘gluttonous’ the ‘vanity’ trip was, with fellow celebrities including Olivia Munn, Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde and Emily Ratajkowski calling it ‘wasteful’ and even ‘beyond parody’.
Posing for photos ahead of take-off, the women sported custom curve-hugging jumpsuits from luxury brand Monse and fresh blow-drys – turning what was being pushed as a massive feminist achievement into a glamorous show.
While the six women did not have to pay for their place in the crew, the costs of a Blue Origin ticket are estimated to be around $28million (£20million) – with the promotion of the commercial flights slammed as ‘tone-deaf’ at a time of economic struggles for many.
Aside from the questions about the ethics of space tourism, others also called into question Katy’s claims that the trip was ‘about making space for future women’.
Although there was a NASA employee in the launch vehicle, the idea that the pop star was any sort of trailblazing astronaut were shut down.
Those sentiments have been highlighted in recent weeks too, following the triumphant Artemis II mission, which saw four astronauts undertake NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years.
Each of them personally made history – with Victor Glover becoming the first person of colour, Christina Koch the first woman, Canadian Jeremy Hansen the first non-U.S. citizen, and Reid Wiseman the oldest person to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Koch – who was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of 2020 – graduated from the NASA Academy program in 2001 and in 2013 was selected as part of Astronaut Group 21.
She completed her training two years later, which came after she’d undertaken scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in International Space Station systems, spacewalks, robotics, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.
Katy might have been the first pop star to make it to space, but the attention surrounding her involvement also overlooked the fact she’d done peanuts to prepare in comparison to aspiring female astronauts around the world who have been waiting years to be granted the same opportunities.
While in space – where the crew experienced four minutes of weightlessness – Katy didn’t miss her chance to belt out a song, being filmed singing Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. During the flight she also commanded some further self-promotion when she held up the setlist for her then-upcoming tour.
Once landing, she described the experience as the ‘highest high’ and teased that she would write a new song based on going to space.
‘It’s not about me, it’s not about singing my songs, it’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us, it’s about making space for future women, and taking up space, and belonging. It’s about this wonderful world we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth,’ she shared.
However, a few weeks later Katy described feeling ‘battered and bruised’ by public backlash.
‘I’m so grateful for you guys. We’re in this beautiful and wild journey together. I can continue to remain true to myself, heart open and honest especially because of our bond,’ she directly addressed her fans on social media.
Katy went on to write she’d ‘done a lot of work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me’, adding that while she felt like a ‘human Pinata’, she would ‘take it with grace’ as the internet was a ‘dumping ground for unhinged and unhealed’.
In the subsequent few months, Katy also found her public profile cop even more of a beating – with her album 143 being blasted by critics, while the first few shows of her Lifetimes tour were dubbed ‘cringe’ by some. Despite this it became her second-highest-grossing tour ever.
And although she and long-term partner Orlando Bloom split around June 2025, soon after, she went public with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Although many were initially perplexed by the pairing, fans have rallied around the couple, who have been snapped attending events that have included meeting the former Japanese Prime Minister to watching Justin Bieber play at Coachella.
Although a year ago it might have seemed the pop star’s reputation was in tatters, she’s managed to turn things around and launch back into the stratosphere.
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