Fast food chain Wendy’s has followed up on their criticism of Katy Perry‘s recent space flight, saying they have “a ton of respect” for the pop star.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space tourism company Blue Origin sent the ‘E.T.’ singer to space on Monday (April 14), with an all-female crew that included TV host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, scientist Amanda Nguyen, entrepreneur Aisha Bowe and author Lauren Sánchez, who is also Bezos’ fiancée.
The trip was roundly criticised, with actress Olivia Munn branding Perry “gluttonous”, Emily Ratajkowski saying she was similarly “disgusted” by the space flight and Lily Allen calling the mission “out of touch”, saying there was “no fucking reason” for it.
Wendy’s also weighed in on social media, jokingly asking if they could “send Katy Perry back to space”, and writing: “When we said women in stem this isn’t what we meant.” They have since clarified their stance on the singer, giving an official statement to People. “We always bring a little spice to our socials,” they said, stopping short of a full apology.
“But Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world-talent.”
Can we send her back
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) April 15, 2025
Wendy’s comment didn’t go unnoticed by Kesha, who appeared to subtly endorse the quip. The tension between the two singers has been well publicised, with their strained relationship coming after Kesha’s her decade-long legal battle with Dr Luke – who she accused of emotional abuse and sexual assault.
Perry has frequently collaborated with the producer on some of her biggest hits, including ‘I Kissed A Girl’, ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Dark Horse’.
After Kesha sued him, the producer denied the allegations and countersued the artist, claiming she had breached the recording contract they had with one another and made up rape allegations in an attempt to get out of the deal.
Perry did get brought into proceedings when Kesha alleged that Perry was also a victim of abuse at the hands of Dr Luke. Perry strongly denied this and a judge later ruled that Kesha had defamed Dr Luke by suggesting as much.
I kissed the ground and i liked it https://t.co/pjBpDIZ9k8
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) April 15, 2025
In 2018, Perry said that she “felt pressured” to support Kesha. She also revealed that she felt like “Luke was using me as a pawn” to assert his innocence, and that she was “annoyed” with both parties. Dr Luke was not involved in making her 2017 album ‘Witness’, which she added was because she didn’t want to feel like she was “picking a side”.
Kesha and Dr Luke’s legal battle came to an end in the summer of 2023 with the pair settling just one month before it was supposed to go to trial. Kesha has maintained her original claims against Dr. Luke.
Meanwhile, Gayle King has addressed the criticism of the space flight, saying in a new video: “I’ve certainly read some of the things online, coming from people that I know, that I like, that I consider friends. This is what I would say to that: space is not an ‘either/or’, it’s a ‘both/and’, and because you do something in space, doesn’t mean you’re taking anything away from Earth”.