Lily Allen Apologises To Katy Perry For ‘Mean’ Space Flight Comments

In a recent episode of her podcast, Miss Me?, Lily and co-host Miquita Oliver discussed the news that Katy and five other women had taken an 11-minute flight into space.

“What the hell was all that about?” the Brit Award winner said (per BBC News). “I mean, in all seriousness, what? Why? For why?

“It’s so out of touch. Like, we’re on the brink of recession. People are really struggling to make ends meet and put food on their tables. And the fact that they’ve, like, made it like some sort of feminist thing…”

Katy Perry
Katy Perry

via Associated Press

However, in the latest instalment of Lily’s podcast, she walked back some of her comments, describing them as “mean” and putting her criticism down to “internalised misogyny”.

“There was actually no need for me to bring [Katy’s] name into it, and it was my own internalised misogyny,” Lily told Miquita. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and it was just completely unnecessary to pile on with her.”

The Smile singer continued: “I mean, I disagree with what it was that they did, but she wasn’t the only person that did it. She was possibly the most famous, and the one that divides people the most, and so there was something in me that decided to choose her [to talk about]. Well, anyway, I’m just sorry.”

Katy was joined on her trip to space by American broadcaster Gayle King, movie producer Kerianne Flynn, journalist Lauren Sánchez (who is engaged to Jeff Bezos, the owner of the space travel company Blue Origin), activist Amanda Nguyễn and rocket scientist Aisha Bowe.

Upon her return to Earth, Gayle King hit back at some of the criticisms levelled against herself and her teammates.

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Katy Perry’s All-Woman Space Flight Is Not The Win For Feminism That It Aims To Be

This week, Katy Perry and five other women, including broadcaster Gayle King, movie producer Kerianne Flynn and journalist Lauren Sánchez, were on the first all-woman space flight since 1963.

The flight has garnered a lot of criticism – not least because it only lasted 11 minutes – and for something that Katy hoped would be a moment for feminism, it falls flat in an era of rising misogyny and concerns of America becoming an oligarchy.

Katy herself said in an interview with Elle: “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.”

While it is hard to think of anything more ‘glam’ than space – it is literally filled with stars – most of us don’t have the capacity to even worry about being glam or even this surface-level feminism in the face of our current climate.

Why Katy Perry’s space flight does very little for feminism

The flight, which took place on a billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin rocket, is not cheap. While price of a ticket isn’t available as public knowledge a deposit for this flight comes in at around $150,000.

When contrasted with the cost of living for many women in America, this is a little unfathomable.

According to the US Government Accountability Office: “Women are more likely to be concentrated in low-wage jobs, be responsible for caregiving, and experience sexual harassment and assault.

“Additionally, the United States has the highest rates of maternal death of developed countries, with U.S. maternal mortality rates increasing when rates have decreased globally.”

Both the financial and emotional burden of being a woman in America is staggering.

While Katy and her billionaire besties don’t represent us, they are also patronising us when touting their space tourism as anything other than a vanity project.

Many people are criticising the flight

Author Emily Ratajkowski criticised the flight, saying on TikTok: “This is beyond parody.

“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? What was the marketing there? I’m disgusted.”

Activist Nina Turner posted on X saying: “If Jeff Bezos can send Katy Perry into space, he can pay a wealth tax so every American has debt-free healthcare.”

It appears that this flight hasn’t taken off with the average woman the way that Katy had hoped it would.

She said in an Instagram post: “I work hard to live my life that way still, and I am motivated more than ever to be an example for my daughter that women should take up space (pun intended).

“That’s why this opportunity is so incredible – so that I can show all of the youngest and most vulnerable among us to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively.”

However, the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund in America reports that 70% of the nation’s poorest are women and children.

So for now, reaching for the stars isn’t quite so possible.

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Here’s How Katy Perry Stole The Show At The 2024 Met Gala Despite Not Actually Being There

Katy Perry was one of the most talked-about stars on this year’s Met Gala red carpet – which is a pretty impressive feat considering she wasn’t even there.

And apparently even Katy’s mum was fooled by the image, as revealed in an Instagram post.

“Couldn’t make it to the Met, had to work,” Katy joked, alongside a photo of a text from her mum that read: “Didn’t know you went to the Met. What a gorgeous gown, you look like the Rose Parade, you are your own float.”

Katy apparently replied: “Lol mom the AI got you too! BEWARE!”

The singer claimed she was in the studio on the night of the Met Ball, working on her upcoming sixth album.

Katy’s next release will be the follow-up to her last album, Smile, which topped the charts upon its release in 2020, two days after she welcomed her first child, a daughter named Daisy, with her fiancé Orlando Bloom.

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Dolly Parton Explains Why She’s Passed On The Super Bowl Halftime Show ‘Many Times’

Dolly Parton isn’t ruling out a Super Bowl halftime show in the future, despite turning down invitations to perform at the big game on a number of occasions.

The Jolene singer, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, shared that she’s received offers to play the halftime show and explained why she has ultimately had to decline them.

“Oh, sure. I’ve been offered that many times. I couldn’t do it because of other things, or I just didn’t think I was big enough to do it — to do that big of a production,” said Dolly.

“When you think about those shows, those are big, big productions. I’ve never done anything with that big of a production. I don’t know if I could have. I think at the time, that’s what I was thinking.”

The iconic country musician nearly took part in the Super Bowl halftime show when Katy Perry was the headliner in 2015.

She told GQ in 2020 that she would have done the show because she loves Katy but revealed that her husband, Carl Dean, “was not doing good” at the time, so she didn’t want to leave him for the performance.

A future halftime show isn’t out of the question, however, with publication noting that she “looks at the epic performance slot a little differently” with the upcoming release of Rockstar, her first rock album.

“It would make more sense. That might change. I might be able to do a production show,” claimed Dolly, whose album drops in two weeks.

Dolly Parton is set to appear at a different halftime show later this month as the Dallas Cowboys announced that she’ll perform at the team’s Thanksgiving Day game against the Washington Commanders on 23 November.

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