The sisterhood sponcon sh*tshow
Blue Origin told Tarte to hold their beer
It was a space tourism stunt that set girl-boss feminism back light years and likely ruined Blue Origin’s reputation for an eternity. But hey, at least the memes were good.
If you’ve missed the most diabolical sponsored content ever created, let me recap it for you. Yesterday the all-female “team of explorers”, that included singer Katy Perry, news host Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, went “on a mission” to the edge of space to “challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come”.
Sadly the only impact that the six had was on internet traffic to takedowns which skewered their 11 minute joyride to promote Blue Origin.
The vibes of the trip were icky from the get go. The whole concept of space tourism, where the super-rich pay up to $28 million for the bragging rights, is a hard one to justify at any time, but this was the week where many Americans saw their net worth and economic prospects plummet. And then there’s the whole cosplaying as astronauts business when NASA is facing funding cuts.
Even on these shaky foundations there may have been a way to make the historic trip have meaning and to send a positive message, especially given that it was the most diverse set of women to ever go to space at once. Instead all of that was overshadowed by self-promotional plays and a myopic obsession with aesthetics.
The splashy ELLE cover that featured all six women lingered for far too long on their hair and make-up needs, but who could blame them when Perry volunteered this quote: “Space is going to finally be glam. Let me tell you something. If I could take glam up with me, I would do that. We are going to put the “ass” in astronaut.”
That bombshell was quickly followed by an exclusive in The New York Times which revealed that Sánchez commissioned the creative directors of high fashion brand Oscar de la Renta to redesign the baggy Blue Origin flight suits and turn them into body-con one-pieces.
Sánchez was thrilled with the end result. “I think the suits are elegant,” she said, “but they also bring a little spice to space.”
With little coaxing she also revealed to the ‘newspaper of record’ that she’d be wearing Skims underwear during the flight and one of the designers admitted that he considered adding a corset to her suit because of her love of a tight fit.
The article ends with Sánchez inexplicably doubling down on Perry’s atrocious one-liner. “We’re putting the ‘ass’ in astronaut,” she repeated, just in case we didn’t get it the first time.
Then the mission itself, which was streamed by Blue Origin and covered live by news networks, was an over two hour reminder that the flight was doing little to empower or challenge anything.
There was almost too much cringe to cover, but lowlights included Perry floating at zero gravity and holding up a butterfly-shaped piece of paper to the camera that revealed the setlist for her upcoming tour.
Sánchez taking a promotional stuffed toy for her children’s book into the capsule. And both Perry and King clambering out of the capsule and falling to their knees as if they’d returned from a months-long mission. “I just have to have a moment with the ground,” King said after the 11 minute journey.
The New Shepard 31 rocket may have stuck its landing back on earth but it was an absolute car crash for everyone on board and it made Trippin with Tarte look like a roaring success.
What did you think of the space sponcon? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
highly flammable is produced and written by me, Rachel Richardson
I’m a content creator, commentator and consultant at Beginning, Middle and End
Want more? Check out Threads, Twitter/X and Instagram. I’m also dabbling in some Bluesky thinking.
Email rr@bmend.com
Excellent HF Rachel I loved reading this!!! Your posts are always so relevant and this one is hilarious, well researched and fascinating. I look forward to them hitting my inbox each week. Thank you.
Was it worth it for the Gayle King looking terrified memes? Maybe.
I do feel badly for any women working at NASA doing any real type of job who now will get asked all about this space tourism flight as if it had any real meaning.