Gayle King Has 1 Wish Amid Blue Origin Flight Backlash

Gayle King is speaking out after facing ongoing criticism over her 11-minute trip to space.

The “CBS Mornings” journalist told Extra on Tuesday that she empathizes with one aspect of the feedback.

“I was one of those people before I went on this flight and before I became educated on space, ‘Why are we spending so much money in space when there’s so much to do here on Earth?’” she said.

King said her opinion shifted when she learned more about Blue Origin’s intentions “to figure out a way to harness the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space ― to make the planet Earth a better place.”

King also expressed one wish, which is that “people would do more due diligence.”

“And then my question is, ‘Have y’all been to space?’” she said. “Go to space, or go to Blue Origin and see what they do and how they do and then come back and say, ‘This is a terrible thing.’”

“Is it expensive? Yes. But one of the things they’re trying to do ― if you get enough people who are interested — it doesn’t have to be that expensive,” she added.

The TV personality then pointed out some of the sexist commentary she has noticed when people describe the all-female Blue Origin flight.

“I don’t like that people are calling it a ‘ride.’ You never see a male astronaut who’s going up in space, and they said, ‘Oh, he took a ride,’” she said, adding, “It’s always referred to as a flight or a journey, so I feel that that’s a little disrespectful to what the mission was and the work that Blue Origin does.”

King was joined by five other women on the Blue Origin flight: singer Katy Perry, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyễn, film producer Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sanchez, a pilot and the fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.

Sanchez made comments similar to King’s when she was asked about the criticism surrounding the women’s flight.

“I get really fired up,” Sanchez said, according to People magazine. “I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle.”