Conspiracy theorists continue to cast doubt on the Blue Origin space mission, which featured Katy Perry and Gayle King among its star-studded crew.
Some claim that Jeff Bezos orchestrated a hoax using CGI and a movie set, insisting the six women never actually went to space.
One detail skeptics point to as "proof" is a video frame showing Katy Perry's long hair hanging down.
Highlights
- People are claiming Katy Perry never went to space, arguing that her hair looked different from NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams.
- Suni Williams spent months on the International Space Station, which is farther from Earth compared to where Katy went.
- Conspiracy theories also claim there was a CGI glitch with Gayle King's hand while the crew experienced weightlessness.
After crossing the boundary into space and experiencing weightlessness, the Firework singer approached the camera inside the New Shepard spacecraft and held up a daisy—a tribute to her four-year-old daughter, who shares the same name.
Image credits: blueorigin
Conspiracy theorists have compared Perry's hair—styled just hours before the launch—to that of NASA astronaut Suni Williams, whose hair floated upward during her months-long stay aboard the International Space Station.
"The real astronaut lady that Space X saved had her hair all raised. This is so fake," one person wrote.
"Watch their hair. Then look at Sumi's [sic] while in space. This is all fake," shared someone else.
A third said Katy "looked like she just had a nice shower and makeup session - not like she came from space."
Image credits: blueorigin
Suni spent nearly ten months on the ISS due to a failure of the Boeing Starliner capsule. During her time aboard the space station, she appeared in videos where her curly hair could be seen standing straight up.
The gravitational force at the altitude of the ISS, which flies between 200 and 250 miles (approx. 320 and 400 km) above Earth, is about 90% as strong as it is at the planet's surface, as per NASA.
Meanwhile, the all-female crew traveled 62 miles (approx. 100 km) above Earth, passing the Kármán line, according to Blue Origin.
Skeptics pointed out that Katy Perry’s hair was hanging down instead of floating, unlike NASA astronaut Suni Williams on the ISS
Image credits: Blue Origin / YouTube
Image credits: Blue Origin / YouTube
Another "piece of evidence" cited by the skeptics was the seemingly disappearing hand of CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King while the crew experienced weightlessness.
Users claim that the host's hand randomly disappeared in the video—a glitch in what they allege to be a CGI-generated hoax.
"It's not real it's fake. Don't believe me find the original video, download yourself, and super speed it down. What's going on what are the distracting us from? I have goosebumps," one critic wrote.
The International Space Station flies between 200 and 250 miles above Earth, while the all-female crew flew 62 miles above Earth
Image credits: CBS Evening News / YouTube
Image credits: CBC News: The National / YouTube
Another person thanked the user for posting the supposed glitch and showing the world "what they can't see."
However, the original video posted by Blue Origin on YouTube shows no distortion of King's hand, meaning the "glitch" was edited before being shared online.
Others pointed to the capsule door as definitive proof that the Blue Origin mission was faked.
After the New Shepard capsule landed, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos opened the door with a specialized tool before greeting the crew.
Footage from minutes earlier showed the capsule door being opened from the inside before being shut again.
Others questioned why the capsule door was opened from the inside after landing, and then Bezos reopened it from the outside to greet the crew
Image credits: Blue Origin / YouTube
"The Bezos Door Show Footage shows the capsule door already open—then re-closed so Bezos can dramatically reopen it on cue. In real aerospace recovery, that's reckless. But this wasn't science. This was PR," one Redditor claimed.
“I'd say this is the nail in the coffin. FAKE!" another skeptic wrote.
Some spacecraft doors can be opened from both sides. NASA's safety requirements state that "doors shall be operable by a single crew member in no more than 60 seconds, from both sides of the hatch."
Image credits: NASA Flight Opportunities / Flickr
As Bored Panda previously reported, some conspiracy theorists used a 2017 photo from a New Shepard test flight containing a mannequin to spread misinformation about the recent mission.
"Why is there a dummy hand on the Blue Origin?" one user asked, while another stated, "This whole thing was a movie set. They went nowhere."
The photo showed a dummy that was used for a test flight on December 12, 2017. In the picture, the lettering on the New Shepard capsule was a different color than the one used in the recent mission.
Moreover, the dummy's space suit was blue and white, while the women's was blue with black detailing.
Conspiracists wrongly used a 2017 test flight image to claim the mission used dummies
"Bezos isn't just launching rockets. He's launching a brand. A fantasy. A version of space that's clean, smooth, influencer-ready," they wrote.
"No risk. No vomit. No decompression. Just Disneyland… with better lighting."
"They opened the door by accident from inside before Bezos could act like he was opening it with a special tool!" one person claimed
On Monday (April 14), Blue Origin launched the first all-female space flight since 1963.
The event was live-streamed on YouTube. The crew's loved ones witnessed it from the Blue Origin Launch Site One, about 30 miles (approx. 48 km) north of Van Horn, Texas.
On board with Perry and King were journalist and Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and feminist activist Amanda Nguyen.
"It's not fake. Certainly a criminal waste of money," a Facebook user shared
