Gayle King isn’t letting anyone “steal her joy” after her life-changing trip to space courtesy of Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin. Not only that, but she’s reacting to THOSE viral memes of her looking frightful and forlorn while boarding the capsule.
In an interview with Extra published on April 15, Gayle King addressed the backlash and hilarious memes that surfaced on the internet surrounding herhistoric eight-minute spaceflightwith Katy Perry and journalist Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn on April 14.
Source: Jeff Kravitz
The all-female trip drew criticism and laughs from several corners, including from comedian Amy Schumer, who mocked the once-in-a-lifetime event, and actress Olivia Munn, who flat out labeled the mission “gluttonous.“ Speaking with Extra’s Mona Kosar Abdi, King acknowledged the criticism and admitted she once shared similar concerns.
“I think it’s good that we can really address it … because I was one of those people before I went on this flight and before I became educated. ‘Why are we spending so much money on space when there’s so much to do on Earth?’ I was one of those people,” the CBS Mornings anchor confessed.
King said her perspective shifted after she learned more about Blue Origin’s goals, particularly their efforts to explore ways to reduce Earth’s waste by transporting it into space “to make the Earth a better place.”
The news anchor was also impressed by the company’s cutting-edge technology, which harnesses the power of satellites, GPS, and other tools to help gather useful information “every time a flight goes up” to space.
King told Abdi that she isn’t letting the negativity drown out the success of her and the crew’s successful mission to space. In fact, she hopes the trip will encourage people to think bigger about the possibilities of what space has to offer.
“I know there are cranky Yankees, I know there are some haters, but I’m not gonna let people steal my joy and steal the joy of what we did or what we accomplished that day,” the 70-year-old star added. “I’m just not going to let it in. I’m not. And these are some of my friends that are throwing shade!”
She added:
”My question is, ‘Have y’all been to space?’ Go to space, or go to Blue Origin and see what they do and how they do and then come back and say, ‘This is a terrible thing…’ I’m so proud of us, I really am proud of me, because I never in a gazillion years thought I could do this.”
King’s terrified face upon boarding Monday’s Blue Origin flight sent internet users into a tizzy, becoming a viral meme.
On Tuesday, the longtime journalist offered some insight into her reaction, telling fans on Instagram that in the moment she felt “so afraid” and was eager to settle into the spacecraft so she could calm her nerves.
“I just wanted to get inside the capsule and sit down,” King, who didn’t know she was being filmed during that moment, revealed. “So the process of walking up there was a little daunting for me.”
“I just thought, ‘I’m just gonna go in and get in my seat and I’m gonna do this.’ I knew I was always gonna do it. Although we were told that if you’re going to back out, you had to do so before two minutes and 30 seconds. You have to say, ‘I’m not going to fly.’ Well, I knew I wasn’t gonna be that guy.”
Although boarding the spacecraft was “a little scary,” King encouraged online critics to take a closer look at the photos of her return to Earth. One image shows her kissing the ground—a candid moment of gratitude after safely completing the journey to space.
“That’s the one that matters. That’s the victory speech. That’s the one that matters. I’m so glad to be back on Earth. ‘Welcome home’ has a new meaning,” King said.
What did you think of King and the crew’s recent flight to space? Tell us in the comments section.
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