Gayle King slams trolls mocking her 11-min space 'ride', compares herself to astronaut Alan Shepard

WASHINGTON, DC: Television personality Gayle King is reportedly not pleased with people calling her trip on Blue Origin a "space ride" and insists it has a sexist implication, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, April 16.

The 70-year-old was part of an 11-minute, all-woman team to go on a suborbital flight on Tuesday, along with the likes of Lauren Sanchez and Katy Perry. Footage from the flight showed them floating around in the capsule and marveling at the view, while holding personal items. 

King insisted that they "duplicated" the same trajectory that Alan Shepard, the first American to go to space, travelled back in 1961.

Gayle King's reacts to space trip being called 'a ride'

The space trip has not been well received by many on the internet, with many celebrities such as Emily Ratajkowski, Olivia Wilde, Olivia Munn, and Amy Schumer slamming it as a 'marketing' move for Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

King responded to that in an interview, saying, "This is what bothers me, I've certainly read some of the stuff being said online and it's coming from people I know, people I consider friends. Space is not an either/or ... Just because you do something in space doesn't mean you're taking anything away from Earth."

Ratajkowski reportedly called out the team in a TikTok video, saying, "That space mission this morning? That’s end time s**t. Like, this is beyond parody. That you care about Mother Earth and it’s about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying the planet? Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? What was the marketing there?"

Seemingly referencing the criticism, King insisted that Blue Origin is fiercely dedicated to "make the planet cleaner."

She also hit back at the others, calling the mission a "ride", saying, "You have never said to a (male) astronaut, 'What a ride.' (Don't) call it a ride. It's called a flight or a journey. A ride implies it's something frivolous or lighthearted. There's nothing frivolous about what we did."

King discussed the subject the next day with fellow traveller and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe on 'CBS Mornings', who added, "There’s so many things that have been developed in space that benefit Earth... from pharmaceuticals to, like, research on agriculture."

"And, you know, I paused there because we did research and it was emotional... Part of what I accomplished in my flight was I was looking at the future of being able to produce crops that can withstand harsh environments so we can look at food security here on Earth, and simultaneously, we also were able to certify that device so more people could do research on New Shepard," she shared.

Internet trolls Gayle King for thinking 'she is an astronaut'

Netizens reacting to King's comment trolled her for inflating her importance on the social media platform X. The following tweets demonstrate their takes.

"Gayle King is deranged if she thinks she is an astronaut," wrote a person.

"Right, because when I sit on a plane I call myself a pilot," mocked another.

"So the grand plan for space ships is to turn them into incredibly expensive garbage trucks?" noted a third.

"It was a ride, just like an expensive Six Flags ride. Has nothing to do with gender. It was just a ride. Get over it Gayle King," observed a fourth.

"Their goofy bouncing around snapping selfies and passing around toys confirms it was definitely a ride," expressed a fifth.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online