Olivia Wilde Has Eyebrow-Raising Reaction to All-Female Blue Origin Flight: ‘Billion Dollars Bought Some Good Memes I Guess’

(L-R) Olivia Wilde, Blue Origin crew. Photo:

Craig T Fruchtman/Getty; X ACCOUNT OF BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty

Olivia Wilde has a few choice words about Blue Origin’s first all-female flight crew making their way to the edge of space.

Shortly after the New Shepard rocket returned from its round-trip expedition on Monday, April 14, the actress shared a meme on her Instagram Stories featuring two photographs of Katy Perry as she exited the capsule upon returning to Earth.

One of the images showed Perry holding up a Daisy as she smiled from ear to ear while walking outside. The singer took a small daisy into space with her as a tribute to her daughter Daisy Dove Bloom, whom she shares with Orlando Bloom.

Katy Perry kissing the ground upon return to Earth on Monday, April 14. BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty

The other showed the performer kissing the ground after stepping down a few steps. On top of the two photos was a text that read, “getting off a commercial flight in 2025 #BlueOrigin.”

Wilde shared the meme with the message, “Billion dollars bought some good memes, I guess.”

While Perry was the only one featured in the meme, Monday’s trip to the outside of the Earth’s atmosphere also included journalist Gayle King, philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn. 

Still from Blue Origin launch video shown at press conference. Blue Origin

Before Monday’s takeoff, others criticized the mission, including Olivia Munn, who questioned its need while co-hosting the April 3 episode of Today with Jenna and Friends. Tuesday’s mission was the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program and the 31st in its history. 

“I know this probably isn’t the cool thing to say. But there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now,” she said per Page Six. Also criticizing the mission was Emily Ratajkowski, who said in a TikTok on Monday afternoon, “That’s end time s—. Like, this is beyond parody.”

When asked about the overall criticism by PEOPLE in a press conference, King said that in her eyes, “anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here.”

(L-R) Kerianne Flynn, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen. BLUE ORIGIN HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents,” she added. Sánchez chimed in, saying, “I get really fired up.”

“I would love to have them 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. They love their work and they love the mission and it’s a big deal for them,” said Sánchez.

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“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,’ ” she continued.

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