- EXPLORE FURTHER: Conspiracy theorists latch onto Blue Origin door mistake
Ever since Katy Perry and Gayle King After their 11-minute journey to the edge of space, the web has erupted with numerous speculative ideas.
Based on theories from online conspiracy enthusiasts, the voyage of the entirely female crew aboard Jeff Bezos ' Blue Origin The entire rocket event was just an intricate deception.
Currently, social media users have seized upon another strange element as evidence that the team never actually ventured into space.
On X, formerly Twitter Commentators have argued that Katy Perry's hair did not behave as expected in microgravity, suggesting she wasn’t truly weightless.
Specifically, conspiracy theorists have seized upon the detail that NASA Astronaut Suni Williams' hair stood up in all directions while she was in space. International Space Station (ISS).
A doubtful observer remarked: "The actual female astronaut that SpaceX rescued had her hair standing up. This looks completely fabricated."
However, that was not the sole aspect of the Blue Origin mission that has left online commentators puzzled.
An odd video allegedly depicting Gayle King's hand vanishing has reignited speculations that the footage was produced using 'computer-generated imagery' or CGI.
Following the malfunction of the Boeing Starliner capsule, which kept her aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly 10 months, Suni Williams emerged as one of the most recognizable American astronauts.
Williams' perpetually upright hairstyle drew so much notice that even President Donald Trump labeled her as the 'lady with the untamed hair'.
Nevertheless, numerous social media users have noted that the crew from the Blue Origin mission NS-31 did not exhibit similar reactions when they experienced a brief period of weightlessness earlier in the week.
On X, one commenter wrote: 'Watch their hair. Then look at Sumi's [sic] while in space. This is all fake.'
A perplexed individual from social media commented: "My hair is quite lengthy... When I am beneath the surface, it floats around and moves gracefully, seemingly responding to the feelings within the water... None of this can be observed in those simulated space images."
One observer remarked: "Why didn’t Katy Perry and the other women secure their hair before departing? It appears to be a staged maneuver to me."
Certainly, this overlooks the clear explanation that Katy Perry and the rest of the team had their hairstyles done on the ground prior to departure.
On the contrary, Suni Williams spent months aboard the ISS with limited access to showers, which makes it understandable why her hair appeared distinct from that of a typical celebrity.
However, that hasn't prevented conspiracy theorists from searching for alternative proof to back up their baseless assertions.
A TikTok video shared by a user suggested that during the clip showing CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King and her team experiencing weightlessness, her hand seems to vanish from sight.
In the caption of the video, the user states: "This isn’t genuine; it’s counterfeit. Don’t take my word for it—locate the authentic video, download it, and play it at a slower speed. What could be diverting our attention? It gives me chills."
In the comments section, supporters rallied behind the statement, with one user commenting: "I believe you've done an excellent job by posting this and putting your utmost effort into revealing things others cannot see. If some people struggle to understand, they'll discover these insights somewhere else; therefore, there’s no reason to apologize for shedding light on important issues."
Nevertheless, this video’s assertion can be easily refuted through even basic fact-checking.
Viewing the initial clip shared by Blue Origin at slow speed shows absolutely no deformation of Gayle King's hand at all.
The so-called 'evidence' shown in this clip might have been inserted through editing or could be distortions caused by the video being extracted from another platform, which is suggested by the multiple branding logos layered in the lower right-hand corner.
This followed overly enthusiastic conspiracy theorists circulating incorrect assertions regarding a purportedly 'phony' hand observed in the window of the New Shepard capsule.
On X, a commenter asserted: “There’s clearly an issue with the Blue Origin ‘space flight’ that included Katy Perry.”
Although those commentators accurately pointed out that it was a mannequin's hand, they had merely confused a seven-year-old photo with pictures from Monday’s launch.
This statement refers to the initial test flight of the New Shepard Crew Capsule 2.0, which occurred on December 12, 2017.
The aircraft featured a dummy that was playfully referred to as Mannequin Skywalker, with its hand visible in the widely shared photograph.
Actually, at 14:30 BST (08:30 local time), the NS-31 mission took off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One, located approximately 30 miles north of Van Horn, Texas.
Aboard were Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, pop icon Katy Perry, CBS Morning host Gayle King, movie producer Kerianne Flynn, advocate Amanda Nguyen, and ex-NASA rocket engineer Aisha Bowe.
Following takeoff, the New Shepard rocket propelled the crew capsule slightly above the Karman Line, which marks the division between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Following several minutes of experiencing zero gravity, the capsule descended back towards Earth and touched down safely merely 11 minutes post-launch.
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