Gayle King & Lauren Sanchez Defend Blue Origin Space Flight Amid Criticism From Olivia Munn & More

Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez are shutting down the backlash over their controversial trip to space. The women defended joining Blue Origin’s latest New Shepard flight alongside Katy Perry, activist Amanda Nguyen, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn on April 14 amid outspoken criticism. Celebrities including Amy Schumer, Emily Ratajkowski, Olivia Munn and Olivia Wilde were among those sounding off on the mission, which saw the all-female crew travel more than 300,000 miles above the Earth and experience weightlessness for several minutes. Though some found the excursion wasteful, Gayle and Lauren told People that they believe the negative feedback stems from a lack of awareness. “Anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here,” Gayle said, adding, “We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents.” Lauren, the fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, noted that she gets “really fired up” over the backlash and invited naysayers 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,” adding, “So when we hear comments like that, I just say, ‘Trust me. Come with me. I’ll show you what this is about, and it’s, it’s really eye-opening.'”