Additional Coverage:
- Gayle King Branded ‘Tone Deaf’ After Announcing Her Space Flight With Blue Origin: ‘You Should Be Ashamed Of Yourself’ (shefinds.com)
Television personality Gayle King’s announcement that she’ll be venturing into space as part of an all-female Blue Origin crew this spring has been met with mixed reactions. King will join a prominent group of women for the 11-minute flight, including pop star Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos’ partner Lauren Sánchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
King revealed her participation in a joint Instagram post with CBS Mornings, where she admitted her initial hesitation. “I’m so afraid, but I’m also so excited about it,” King stated on CBS Mornings. She described her initial reaction to the offer, made around Thanksgiving, as a resounding “no,” before reconsidering the “unique opportunity.”
However, the news wasn’t universally celebrated. Some of King’s Instagram followers criticized the venture, calling it a “Bezos publicity stunt” and expressing concerns over the resources allocated to space tourism, suggesting the funds could be better used for disaster relief or other social causes.
Several comments labeled the flight as “tone-deaf,” “grotesque,” and “out of touch,” reflecting a sentiment of disappointment among some fans. Others expressed a more personal disappointment in King, with comments ranging from “Shame on you” to “So disappointing.”