Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King and three other women took a quick 11-minute space trip with Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin. The moment was live streamed across multiple online platforms. Perry and others reportedly reached 66.5 miles above Earth, just past the official boundary of space called the Kármán Line, before floating weightless for a few minutes and returning safely to Earth. Seems fun, right? Not for everyone. As soon as the footage of the flight was posted online, conspiracy theorists jumped in, saying the whole thing was fake. Theories blew up on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), claiming the spaceflight was nothing more than a “Hollywood production.”
Also read: ‘It’s the highest high’: Katy Perry, all-women crew complete 10-min Blue Origin Space trip
Katy Perry’s space trip slammed as ‘fake’
“Anyone else think that the Blue Origin flight today was a Hollywood fake?” A user commented on the video. Another said, “one of the biggest lies in the history of mankind.” Critics said the footage looked fake, accusing Blue Origin of using “the worst CGI any of these fake space agencies has produced.” Others claimed that the crew, including Katy and Sanchez, weren’t floating in space at all but were instead filmed floating inside a tank of water.
But some theories ran wild. Online users started calling the launch a “satanic ritual,” led by the singer and Jeff Bezos. According to them, the mission’s logo patch—which all the women wore on their suits—contained hidden symbols. One commenter bizarrely said: “Did you notice the logo on Katy Perry’s patch is the satanic goat with an upside-down cross if you flip it?” Some were convinced that celebrities like Katy Perry are part of hidden “occult” groups and powerful elites who mock religion and control the media.
“Katy Perry has long been a target for these conspiracy narratives,” explained Dr. Daniel Jolley, a psychologist from the University of Nottingham, to Daily Mail. “This mission brought together celebrity culture and space travel, two topics that often spark conspiratorial thinking.” Psychologists believe these wild claims don’t come from facts, they come from deeper insecurities and a need to “understand the unknown.”
On April 15 at 14:30 BST, from Blue Origin’s launch site in Texas, a crew of six women launched into space. Apart from Katy and Bezos’ fiancée, other women who were on the flight included CBS co-host Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe. Katy Perry sang “What a Wonderful World” from space and called it a tribute to Earth. “It’s about this wonderful world we see out there and appreciate,” she said. “This is all for the benefit of Earth.” Despite being broadcast live and covered by major media worldwide, some think it was just a music video shoot set up.
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But, why do people believe all these stuffs? According to Psychologist Prof. Karen Douglas, who spoke to Mail, “People are uncomfortable with uncertainty. A short, simple explanation like ‘they went to space and came back safely’ isn’t enough for everyone. Some feel like there must be a bigger, hidden story.”
Is Katy Perry an astronaut now?
Blue Origin proudly announced after the flight that the women were now astronauts. But experts and rules say otherwise. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has clear rules. To earn astronaut status, you must contribute to the safety or success of the flight in a meaningful way. But Blue Origin rockets fly autonomously, they’re entirely controlled from the ground. Nobody on board controls anything or performs any safety-related tasks. So, technically, they’re just “space travellers,” not an astronaut.
