Jeff Bezos reportedly faces the challenge of securing celebrity power for another Blue Origin space ride, following backlash to last year’s all-female trip. In April 2025, Blue Origin, featuring all female passengers, launched NS-31, with their voyage lasting around 11 minutes.
The members aboard were Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King, Kerianne Flynn, and Amanda Nguyen. However, the space joyride received massive criticism from the entertainment industry, sparking discussions around feminism, environmental impact, economy, and privatization of space travel.
Sources suggest Jeff Bezos is struggling to lock in celebrities
Insiders exclusively told Rob Shuter that Jeff Bezos is currently facing difficulty in securing big stars for his next Blue Origin launch after he received backlash for his space travel venture last year. A source said, “The optics are terrible right now. Billionaires floating in space while the world burns? Celebrities don’t want that headline.”
Shuter opined that the main reason the stars don’t want to be included in the space trip is that they are afraid of being perceived as “tone-deaf” and being talked about online, especially at a time when the election is near. “Nobody wants to be the meme. Especially not during an election year,” the source explained.
One Hollywood wag joked, “At this rate, he’s going to end up with Bethenny Frankel and Carrot Top.” The insider stated that there was a time when the celebrities were desperate to get a seat for Bezos’ space travel. However, after the backlash last year, the response hasn’t been the same. Even if his team reaches out, the celebrities’ publicists don’t return the calls. The insider added, “Celebrities are terrified of being dragged.”
Last year, many prominent celebrities criticized Bezos’ all-female space trip for several reasons, including environmental impact, the struggling economy, feminism, and inequality. For instance, Jessica Chastain reshared an article from The Guardian on X (formerly Twitter).
According to Billboard, Olivia Wilde also took to Instagram Stories to share a meme around Bezos’ space launch, alongside the caption: “Getting off a commercial flight in 2025 #BlueOrigin. Billion dollars bought some good memes, I guess.”
