Blue Origin Astronaut and 100th Woman in Space Faces Sexist Reaction After Sharing Video

Emily Calandrelli, an author, commercial astronaut, and engineer, became the 100th woman to travel to space. She joined five other space tourists on the NS-28 mission launched by Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin. However, her video sharing a breathtaking view of Earth quickly became the target of a wave of hateful and objectifying comments online.

Earth Video From Blue Origin NS-28 Mission

In the video posted on social media, Calandrelli shared her excitement about what she has seen in space.

“We got to weightlessness. I immediately turned upside down and looked at the planet, and then there was so much blackness. There was so much space,” Calandrelli said in the video.

In an interview with CNN, she explained that the beauty of sending more women into space is that they can “describe it in a way that moms can understand, that women can understand.”

Sexist Comments On Social Media

Despite the video’s inspiring content, social media was soon flooded with objectifying remarks. The astronaut and MIT engineer revealed that some of the comments sexualised her reaction to witnessing the planet from space.

One user commented: “Would you consider yourself the hottest woman to ever go to space? Any other contenders?”

“It’s not an achievement being a woman,” another one wrote.

Fortunately, there were also supportive comments from users.

“I would have had the exact reaction! I guarantee you inspired more people, especially women out there, than you can imagine,” a supporter wrote.

“Thank you for sharing, Emily. You are so expressive of the wonder you are feeling that it helps me appreciate it as well. Thank you,” another user replied.

“I refuse to give much time to the small men on the internet,” Calandrelli hits back

“I will not apologize or feel weird about my reaction. It’s wholly mine and I love it.”

Ms Calandrelli expressed her feelings on her Instagram account. 

“This all happened as I was flying home after experiencing the most perfect, wonderful dream-achieving experience of my life. And instead of being on cloud nine, I’m crying in my seat staring out the window,” she shared.

Despite being saddened, the astronaut remained defiant and inspired by the recent space travel.

“Because of course this happened. Of course I should have expected this. [But] I refuse to give much time to the small men on the internet. I will not apologise or feel weird about my reaction. It’s wholly mine and I love it,” the astronaut added.

Blue Origin’s Response To The Situation

Soon after, Blue Origin removed the video from the internet due to the influx of sexist and hateful comments. The company also didn’t respond to a media request for comment regarding the incident.