Katy Perry sparks outrage with comments about historic space flight: 'It won't be about me'

Pop star Katy Perry had an interesting take before leaving Earth on Blue Origin's first all-female space flight Monday. 

"It won't be about me; it will be about this beautiful Earth. I think from up there, we will think, 'Oh my God, we have to protect our mother,'" she said in a post on X by Variety.

She was later shown kissing the ground upon her return.  

Katy Perry returns from space and kisses the ground.

"It won't be about me, it will be about this beautiful Earth," the singer said before the launch. "I think from up there, we will think 'Oh my God, we have to protect our mother.'"https://t.co/SuxLwFfOre pic.twitter.com/IXhWrLQPEm

— Variety (@Variety) April 14, 2025

The comment popped like a firework online, with viewers wondering why the celebrity needed to travel 62 miles above the planet — part of a costly and pollution-spewing trip — to realize that our home is a gem worth preserving. 

The rocket took Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn to the threshold of space — flights that are becoming more common for Jeff Bezos' space tourism enterprise. William Shatner took a similar one in 2021, writing in Variety that he had an "overwhelming sadness" after entering the cold void above. 

Perry's comments seemed a little unbelievable to some X users. 

"Like you clearly can come to that conclusion on the ground so why do you need to go into the sky/space to see this?" one person wrote. 

Space flights aren't as polluting as the aviation sector. But since rocket launches are becoming more common, the pollution they generate is growing, too, according to CBC. The trips have tripled in "recent decades," to 180 in 2022. Soot, nitrogen oxides, alumina particles, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid are some of the substances spewed out, the news agency added. 

Lower-altitude flights in their totality are even more problematic. PBS reported that about a quarter million of the world's extremely rich generate 17.2 million tons of air pollution while traversing the globe on private jets. Pollution from those planes increased 46% from 2019 to 2023, per the story. 

The gases are linked by NASA to increased risks for severe weather that is impacting everyone else on Earth, including through higher insurance rates stateside.

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And folks living in storm-ravaged coastal communities don't need a God's-eye view of things to understand the importance of limiting the planet's warming.

This isn't the first time that Perry has sparked environmental concerns. Filming for her "Lifetimes" music video was under investigation last year for feared harm to the Ses Salines Natural Park in Spain, according to Billboard. 

For her part, Perry has also done good work to help the planet and its people. In 2013, she was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as an example, and her intentions here may have been genuine. 

The outer space experience may have provided the erstwhile "American Idol" judge with a renewed focus on Earth's health, judging by her comments.

"Space got her thinking … Earth really is something special," another X user posted. 

Fortunately, making a cleaner difference is far less complicated than a rocket launch. The TCD Guide features dozens of ways you can make a difference yourself, with actions as simple as unplugging your unused chargers and devices when they are not being used. You can even save around $165 a year by pulling a few cords. 

Even better, though, is to support anti-pollution policies, seek out brands reducing their carbon impact at stores, and — to the point above about air travel — consider lower-impact travel options.

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