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Christine Baranski Blasts Blue Origin Flight with Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Katy Perry as 'Grotesque Displays of Wealth'


Christine Baranski Blasts Blue Origin Flight with Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Katy Perry as 'Grotesque Displays of Wealth'

Christine Baranski is unimpressed by the Blue Origin space mission.

The Gilded Age actress appeared on a panel event for the HBO series at ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, on Monday, Aug. 11. There, she briefly chatted about the depictions of wealth on TV, including the hit HBO series, as well as its impact in mainstream media, prompting her to call out Blue Origin flight NS-31.

On April 14, Jeff Bezos' space travel company, Blue Origin, launched flight NS-31 with six passengers aboard: Katy Perry, Gayle King, philanthropist Lauren Sánchez Bezos, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn. After the group's 11-minute voyage to the edge of space before returning to Earth, the women and Blue Origin faced criticism for their trip.

Four months after the controversy, Baranski, 73, shared her thoughts. During the panel, The Good Wife alum said she would love for The Gilded Age to continue, because there "is such an exploration to be done in terms of the corruption that goes on, the buying of government influence, which is happening now."

She then pivoted, adding, "And the grotesque displays of wealth? Sending women into a spaceship for what? So they can do their makeup? What the f---?"

"Don't get me started," she said in the voice of her character, Agnes van Rhijn. "I'm going to sound like Agnes."

Baranski isn't the only celebrity to comment on the Blue Origin flight. Ahead of the event, Olivia Munn did not mince her words on the voyage during an April 3 episode of Today with Jenna and Friends.

"What are they doing?" Munn asked, per Page Six. "I know this probably isn't the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now."

"What's the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it's a bit gluttonous," Munn continued. "Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?"

Emily Ratajkowski took to TikTok called the situation was "beyond parody."

"That space mission this morning, that's end-time s---. Like, this is beyond parody," she said. "[Saying that] you care about Mother Earth and it's about Mother Earth and you're going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that is single-handedly destroying the planet..."

She then went on to speak about the "resources" that went into making the mission happen, before closing with, "I'm disgusted."

Olivia Wilde, Amy Schumer, Meg Stalter and even the fast-food chain Wendy's also expressed their contempt for the flight. Jessica Chastain shared an op-ed from The Guardian on X, titled, "The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism."

In response to the negative comments, King, 70, told PEOPLE at a press conference following their landing, that "Anybody that's criticizing it doesn't really understand what is happening here."

"I know there are some haters," King said in an interview with Extra the following day. "But I'm not going to let people steal my joy, and steal the joy of what we did or what we accomplished that day. I'm just not going to let it in."

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