Gayle King said she was “very disappointed and very saddened” by criticism of Blue Origin’s all-women New Shepard flight, while pointing to messages from women and girls who told her the trip inspired them. The suborbital flight took place on April 14, 2025, and lasted about 10 minutes.
What Gayle King said about the criticism
In an Entertainment Tonight interview published April 15, King said she was “very disappointed and very saddened” by criticism of the flight. Us Weekly reported her remarks on April 16 and said King referred to messages from women and girls who told her the crew had inspired them. Us Weekly’s account of King’s response
King also objected to describing the trip as a “ride.” She preferred “flight” or “journey,” framing it as a consequential experience rather than a casual amusement. That is her characterization of the event; it does not settle disagreements about its purpose or value. CBS News coverage of King and the flight
What happened on the New Shepard flight
Blue Origin’s New Shepard carried King, Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen and Kerianne Flynn on April 14, 2025. The crew returned safely after a flight of roughly 10 minutes. The trip was suborbital, not an orbital mission. CBS News and The Associated Press reported the flight and its approximate duration. AP reported that Sánchez invited the other passengers.
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King described the experience on CBS News as a “bona fide freakin’ flight.” Her phrase captures her view of the trip; the factual distinction is that New Shepard crossed the boundary of space on a brief suborbital trajectory rather than carrying the passengers around Earth in orbit. CBS News
Why the flight drew opposing reactions
Criticism discussed in coverage raised questions about the trip’s cost, environmental impact, purpose and symbolism. Those are objections voiced by critics, not evidence of a measured public consensus. The available accounts do not establish how widely each view was held or provide a quantified assessment of the flight’s emissions or cost.
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King’s response emphasized a different measure of value: the women and girls who told her the crew’s participation had inspired them. That reaction can coexist with criticism of the mission’s expense, environmental footprint or broader meaning. Neither King’s account of supportive messages nor the reported objections alone establishes what the public as a whole thought.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was historic—and what was not
The flight can be described precisely as an all-women passenger crew on a suborbital New Shepard mission. Calling it the first time women had gone to space would be inaccurate: Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flew alone in orbit in 1963. The distinction between an orbital mission and a short suborbital flight matters when comparing milestones. TIME’s historical context
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TIME quoted King describing her fellow passengers as “These women are so badass…they have such amazing life stories, all that they’ve accomplished.” That admiration helps explain why King stressed the crew’s stories and the response from girls and women, even as other observers questioned the trip’s cost, impact or significance. TIME
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