What did Jessica Chastain post about Blue Origin’s space mission? Actress prompts reactions with her tweet
Jessica Chastain is one of the latest stars to criticize the recent Blue Origin space mission. The actress took to X on Thursday, April 17, 2025, to repost an opinion piece in The Guardian, written by Moira Donegan, which likened the space trip to "utter defeat of American feminism."
For the unversed, the flight saw an all-female crew featuring Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos's fiancée Lauren Sánchez, activist Amanda Nguyen, journalist Gayle King, NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. They boarded Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle for a roughly eleven-minute voyage.
While Chastain didn't pen the article, her sharing it on her social media led many to conclude she agreed with the message. In the piece, author Moira slammed the Blue Origin flight, calling it a kind of "perverse funeral" for an America that once celebrated "scientific advancement and feminist progress." She further claimed that the voyage was "indulgent" and "morally hollow."
As the tweet went viral, internet users were quick to react. Many criticized the actress's stance, stating it as "performative" and questioning why she never spoke up during Blue Origin's previous space missions.
"You're such a performative activist Jessica. where was this energy for 38 other trips they did ?" one user questioned.
"How come you never talk about the issues that actually affect working women? your opinion is just a classical example of tearing down other women for something men do without controversy," a person remarked.
"Jessica, dozens of male lead 'crews' have done the same space flight, yet the noise is only directed towards the women who did it… it feels weird and you shouldn’t hop in this senseless hate train," another tweet read.
Meanwhile, many other X users spoke in her support, seemingly sharing the same sentiment as the actress.
"100% right. I was embarrassed for all of them and for the United States and how far backwards we have fallen," a user noted.
"Repeating myself ad nauseum,they went on an 8 min ride all dolled up because they could afford it.The idea they were an inspiration to others is laughable.Actual female scientists,astronauts,engineers,fighter pilots,etc should be the one's getting all this attention," another wrote.
"YUP!!! and gotta stop calling them an all female 'crew' - they took an 11 min girls trip to 'space' and called it feminism. all while supporting a billionaire who is avoiding the taxes that could pay for climate conservation.. no logic," one netizen remarked.
"It’s so much money to go to space" — Actress Olivia Munn talks about the Blue Origin space mission
In her April 15 op-ed, columnist Moira Donegan stated that Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin stood as a "testament to the corruption and circumscribed possibilities of the profit motive run amok."
The space mission was marketed as a step towards female representation in space. It was the first trip featuring an all-female crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.
The remotely manned flight launched Monday morning (April 14) from the company's facility in West Texas. Videos of the trip uploaded on Blue Origin's social media showed Katy Perry and her peers getting awed by the view of the Earth. Gayle King also later revealed that Perry performed a cover of What a Wonderful World up in space.
Meanwhile, Chastain is not the first star to criticize Blue Origin. Model Emily Ratajkowski took to her TikTok to express her "disgust," calling the event "end time sh*t." Questioning the environmental impact of the mission, she wrote:
"You say 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’s single-handedly destroying the planet?"
Echoing similar sentiments, actress Olivia Munn, during her April 3 appearance on Today with Jenna and Friends, questioned the need for the Blue Origin space mission. Calling it "gluttonous," she added:
"It’s so much money to go to space, and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs."
Meanwhile, Lauren Sánchez and Gayle King defended their space trip. In an interview with People dated April 14, Sánchez stated that those criticizing don't truly understand the aerospace company's mission. Furthermore, Gayle shared that they have gotten favorable comments from numerous young girls and women.
A spokesperson for the company, Alison Gregg, told AP News in December 2021 that almost all parts used in the aircraft were reused. This included the booster, capsule, ring fin, engine, landing gear, and parachutes. Further, she noted that its fuel's combustion left only water vapor as a byproduct.
None of the women who took the trip have commented on Jessica Chastain's post as of this writing.