“There was nothing frivolous about what we did,” the journalist said of the historic, all-female space mission

Photo:  X ACCOUNT OF BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty

Gayle King had choice words for critics of her Blue Origin flight.

“Space is not an either or, it’s a both and, and because you do something in space doesn’t mean you’re taking anything away from Earth. And what you’re doing in space is trying to make things better here on Earth,” King said on CBS Mornings Tuesday, April 15 of the flight that saw her and the first all-female crew head into space.

“What Blue Origin wants to do is take the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner. Jeff Bezos has so many ideas, and the people that are working there are really devoted and dedicated to making our planet a better place. That’s number one,” the host continued.

“There was nothing frivolous about what we do,” King said in response to the criticisms of the flight. “So, you know, I’m very disappointed and very saddened by it [the criticism]. And I also say this — what it’s doing to inspire other women and young girls? Please don’t ignore that. I’ve had so many women and young girls reach out to me, and men too, by the way. Men too that say, ‘Wow, I never thought I could do that, but I see you doing it at this stage of your life.’ “

King previously told PEOPLE on Monday, April 14 that “anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here.”

The Blue Origin flight to the boundary of outer space lasted approximately 11 minutes on Monday. The flight included the company’s first all-female flight crew, which also included Katy Perry, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, philanthropist Lauren Sanchez and film producer Kerianne Flynn. Blue Origin is owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Sanchez’s fiance, and was founded in 2000.

Blue Origin allows anyone to reserve a spot on their spacecraft, requiring most to put down a “fully refundable deposit” of $150,000. The company auctioned off its first seat for  $28 million in 2021, per The New York Times. It is unclear which passengers aboard the Blue Origin NS-31 flight were paying customers and which were guests who took the flight for free.

Many of the criticisms of Blue Origin and the privatization of space travel lay in the monetary costs of production and passenger tickets, and the alleged high carbon emissions impacting the Earth’s struggling environment. Olivia Munn openly criticized the flight on an April 3 episode of Today with Jenna & Friends ahead of the launch.

“What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” she said. “Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?”

Blue Origin

Olivia Wilde echoed Munn’s sentiments in an Instagram Story post on Monday. The actress and director reposted a meme from X that depicted Perry kissing the ground after stepping down from the New Shepherd rocket. On top of the two photos was a text that read, “getting off a commercial flight in 2025 #BlueOrigin.”

Wilde captioned the meme, “Billion dollars bought some good memes, I guess.”

Emily Ratajkowski later additionally shared a TikTok post criticizing the launch, particularly, Perry’s comments.

“Saying that you care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying the planet?” the model questioned. “Look at the state of the world, and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space, and for what?”

Bezos has yet to publicly address the latest controversies surrounding the recent Blue Origin flight. Before take off, he told the passengers, “When you get back, I can’t wait to hear how it’s changed you. I love you all. See you soon. Godspeed,” per NBC.