Gayle King is clapping back at critics following her recent spaceflight with Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-founded company aiming to take civilians to the edge of space.
The CBS Mornings anchor joined an all-female crew for an eight-minute trip that included singer Katy Perry and journalist Lauren Sánchez.
While the goal was to spotlight women in aeronautics, not everyone was on board — with several celebrities calling the flight out as unnecessary and “gluttonous.”
In an interview on Extra, King addressed the backlash head-on.
“I was one of those people,” she admitted. “I used to say, ‘Why are we spending so much money on space when there’s so much to fix on Earth?’ But when I looked into what Blue Origin is doing, I changed my mind.”
King explained that Blue Origin’s mission includes developing technology that could help Earth by moving waste off-planet and improving satellite communications. “We use space tech every day — GPS, weather forecasts, satellites. These flights aren’t just for fun.”
She pushed back at critics like Olivia Munn, Amy Schumer, and Emily Ratajkowski, saying, “I wish people would do more due diligence. Have y’all been to space? Go see what they’re doing before judging.”
King also took issue with how the trip was framed. “You never hear a man’s space mission called a ‘ride,’” she noted. “It’s a flight. A journey. That language matters.”
While she admitted the trip was “expensive,” she said making space more accessible will take interest and investment. “If more people care, it doesn’t have to stay that way.”
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Despite the heat — and some of it coming from friends — King isn’t letting it dampen her experience.
“I know there are cranky Yankees, I know there are some haters,” she laughed. “But I’m not gonna let people steal my joy or what we accomplished that day.”
