Earlier this week, a crew of six women — including pop star Katy Perry, CBS broadcast journalist Gayle King, and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez — launched to the edge of space as part of an 11-minute thrill ride organized by the Amazon cofounder's space company.

The vacuous publicity stunt — which claimed to make the crew of mostly uber-wealthy media personalities "astronauts" after a mere two days of basic safety training — drew plenty of criticism.

After all, apart from spending an obscene amount of money and rattling off cringeworthy statements about "making space for future women," the crew had little to contribute to science, discourse, or meaningful feminism.

Put simply, the collective eye-rolls the stunt induced could've been visible from space.

Yet the widespread backlash came to the surprise of crew members, who had allegedly been inundated by messages from inspired fans.

"Anybody that’s criticizing doesn’t really understand what is happening here," King said during an interview following the launch, as quoted by People magazine. "We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women, from young girls, about what this represents."

Bezos' multimillionaire fiancée also said that the criticism got her "fired up," arguing that Blue Origin employees had "put their heart and soul into this vehicle" — while she laid down on a padded, reclining seat to rocket into space.

Several other high-profile celebrities took a swipe at the publicity stunt.

"Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess," actor Olivia Wilde wrote in a Monday Instagram post, as quoted by People.

"Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind," she argued, while hosting an NBC daytime TV show earlier this month. "What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?"

Comedian Amy Schumer also skewered the trip in a video.

"Guys, last second, they added me to space, and I’m going to space," she said sarcastically.

Model Emily Ratajkowski had an even stronger reaction, noting that she was "literally disgusted" by the "beyond parody" stunt. In a TikTok video, she pointed out that while the optics of women of color going to "space" looked great on paper, the stunt had little to do with actual progress.

"Instead it just speaks to the fact that we are living in an oligarchy where there's a very small group of people who are interested in going into space for the sake of getting a new lease on life, while the rest of the population... are worried about paying rent or [providing] dinner for their kids," Ratajkowski said.

Other onlookers also noted the baffling demonstration of privilege by the ultra-rich.

"If Jeff Bezos can send Katy Perry into space, he can pay a wealth tax so every American has debt-free healthcare," educator and activist Nina Turner wrote in a post on Bluesky.

However, the widespread criticism appeared to have fallen on deaf ears.

"This is a freaking journey," a defensive King said during a post-launch interview. "It was not a joyride."

"I’m not going to let you steal our joy," she added while addressing her "haters."

More on the stunt: Katy Perry Boasts About Ridiculous Rocket Launch While NASA Is Scrubbing History of Women in Space

The post Zillionaire Girlbosses Astonished by Backlash to Their Frivolous Trip to Space appeared first on Futurism.

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Zillionaire Girlbosses Astonished by Backlash to Their Frivolous Trip to Space