Joe Rogan Dismisses Katy Perry’s Space Flight—Here’s Why It’s Sparking Backlash
Starting to wonder if space chatter is the new roast session? Joe Rogan’s latest podcast episode took aim at pop star Katy Perry and her fellow passengers on Blue Origin’s all-women NS-31 flight, and the internet is buzzing.
On a recent Saturday drop of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan quipped that Perry has “basically become a guru” after her sub‑orbital ride. He and guest Tim Dillon poked fun at the crew’s roughly ten‑minute weightlessness, with Rogan insisting that real astronauts “go to school, learn to fly, join the Air Force or Navy, and get picked by NASA.” Dillon jumped in, calling out the somewhat derisive narrative by referencing NASA astronaut Suni Williams, who was stranded on the ISS for months—a feat that actually required months of training and a SpaceX Dragon rescue on March 18. Rogan’s sarcasm only escalated when he deadpanned, “Let’s not minimize the sacrifice they’ve made for a great nation.”
This rant didn’t just come from left field. Blue Origin’s flight NS-31 launched broadcast journalist Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez (Jeff Bezos’s fiancée) and Katy Perry in an automated mission that peaked just past the Kármán line before a smooth re‑entry. Still, critics argued the crew didn’t meet true astronaut criteria. Even Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy jumped on X (formerly Twitter) to clarify on April 17 that because they didn’t perform the kind of piloting or re‑entry tasks required by the FAA, “you cannot identify as an astronaut.” That comment lit another round of debate over what qualifies someone for the title.
Fans and experts alike are split. Some say any civilian reaching the edge of space deserves kudos—especially when it highlights women in STEM—while others echo Rogan’s point that rigorous training shouldn’t be glossed over. Online polls and Twitter threads show a near‑even divide: applause for visibility versus criticism of perceived hype.
Meanwhile, Perry shared post‑flight reflections, calling the journey “profound” and urging women to chase big dreams, creating a contrast between her sincere take and Rogan’s sardonic spin. With the next Blue Origin launch already being discussed and NASA gearing up Artemis missions, this spat over semantics feels like foreshadowing for deeper culture‑clash fights in the cosmos.
If you thought this was the end of space‑age clapbacks, think again. The next podcast episode drops soon, and there are rumors of a rebuttal from Perry’s camp. Stay tuned—this interstellar back‑and‑forth is only getting started.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and HuffPost, X (Sean Duffy)
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
