As we know, CBS news anchor Gayle King went on an all-female Blue Origin flight to space along with Katy Perry, and Jeff Bezos’s fiancée, Lauren Sánchez. The flight lasted eight minutes, and King kissed the ground after landing back on Earth. Gayle got a lot of criticism (See this column in The Root) on whether it was the best way for a major Black journalist to use her time when more attention could be brought to how Black people are being treated in America.
Another question being asked is whether they went to space at all. Now Black folks are known to question and we love a conspiracy, but weirdly we are often right, but not always. To that point, some Black folks and a few white folks on social media are convinced the all-girl crew did not go to space.
For example, this creator believes, “Gayle and them went to a space.” The question is what space did they go to? And comments on her post are just as skeptical.
“They did NOT go to no space and I’m tired of being gaslit,” one person wrote in response to the video.
Folks online have also laughed and shared concern at how scared Gayle King looked when boarding the flight, and her reaction has people wondering whether she went out of her own free will of did her bestie, Oprah make her go.
“Every time they panned the camera to Gayle she looked like, ‘Oh my God, how am I here? I’m not supposed to be here.’ And I’m just like Oprah did you send her?”
“She was stressed tf out,” a viewer agreed in the comments.
King, who has a fear of flights, told CBS that she is so proud of herself because she conquered her fear of flying. Her instructor even called the journalist “her best success story. Why? Because she has never had someone go through the course who’s terrified of flying.”
Ok but did they really go to space? According to Vogue, Blue Origin is Jeff Bezos’s aerospace company that allows people to journey to the edge of the earth, otherwise known as the Kármán line. There are videos of the women leaving, videos in the spaceship, and videos of their return, but that didn’t stop the speculation and dragging.
Some tiktokers were not buying that King was forced to go on the trip or that the trip wasn’t real, but instead lit into King for being tone deaf to the times.
“(She sent herself. Let’s stop holding celebrities on a high pedestal, very weird behavior. While some are pursuing space exploration, others are struggling to afford basic necessities like eggs.”
But during a press conference after the flight, Gayle and them hared their responses to the criticism they received.
“Anybody that’s criticizing it [the flight] doesn’t really understand what is happening here. We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women, from young girls about what this represents.” King said to PEOPLE magazine.
Sanchéz added “I would love them to come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle. They love their work and they love the mission and it’s a big deal for them.”