Gayle King reveals what Oprah Winfrey told her when she returned from Blue Origin space flight
Oprah Winfrey was in tears watching her longtime friend Gayle King launch into space as part of a recent all-female Blue Origin expedition. But it wasn't because she feared for King's safety.
"When people saw her crying, people said, 'Oh, she's so worried. She thinks something's gonna happen," the CBS Mornings cohost, 70, recently told E! News. But "that wasn't it at all," King explained.
"She was crying because she knew what it took for me to do that, and so when I came [back] she was saying, 'I'm so proud of you. You did that, and I'm so proud of you,'" she continued, remembering, "She was so welled up."
Blue Origin, an aerospace company founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, has now completed 11 crewed flights that have crossed the Kármán line, conventionally regarded as the border between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. King's flight also included Katy Perry and Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sánchez. Past flights have included celebrities like Michael Strahan and William Shatner.
While the only crashes on record for Blue Origin occurred with uncrewed flights, fans voiced their concern for King, Perry, and the rest of the crew's safety ahead of the April 14 flight.
But King was able to rest easy, because Winfrey was able to rest easy. "She always said I was gonna be okay," the broadcaster noted, adding, "and Oprah knows things.'
The all-female Blue Origin expedition courted a good deal of controversy, to the surprise of its participants.
Celebrities from Olivia Wilde to Jessica Chastain criticized the expedition for a number of reasons, from the exorbitant cost to the apparent referendum on contemporary feminism that it provoked.
"Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess," Wilde wrote on her Instagram Story the day of the launch.
Olivia Munn elaborated further on her distaste for the expedition, saying during an appearance on TODAY With Jenna & Friends, "I know this is probably not the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now... What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there?"
Chastain shared an opinion piece published in The Guardian to her X account on April 17 bearing the headline, "The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism."
King defended the expedition, saying that Blue Origin's goal is not rooted in vanity or wastefulness, but "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."
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Amazon-ULA rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, may be visible in Fort Myers, Cape Coral
A rocket launch from Florida could potentially blast off on Monday, June 16, and be visible outside of the Sunshine State. United Launch Alliance will launch the second batch of Amazon satellites into space — and it's possible people can see the Atlas V rocket far outside of Florida. When ULA launches its massive rocket, depending on cloud cover, Floridians (and visitors) as far as Jacksonville, Cape Coral and Miami could see it light up the sky after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Visibility from most of Florida is possible, according to ULA. What's on board ULA Atlas V? Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Project Kuiper, a global network of satellites, to compete with SpaceX founder-billionaire Elon Musk and Starlink satellites. This will be the second launch of the Amazon Project Kuiper production satellites, courtesy of the ULA Atlas V rocket. Online, the mission has been called the "Amazon rocket launch" or "the Amazon rocket launch from Florida." Technically, it's an "Amazon-ULA rocket launch" or "Amazon satellite launch." Bezos also founded the private space company Blue Origin, which launches rockets at a facility in Texas and in Cape Canaveral. ➤ Business is booming: Florida's Space Coast is one of fastest-growing economies in U.S. In Florida, we can best see the "Amazon satellite launch" in person, particularly if you're anywhere on the Space Coast (Melbourne, Florida, area), the Fun Coast (Daytona Beach area) or the Treasure Coast (Vero Beach, Jensen Beach and Fort Pierce). Below is more information about the rocket launch in Florida and suggestions on where to watch them from here. Rocket launch tally: Here's a list of all 2025 missions from Cape Canaveral, Florida (psst, there's a lot) For questions or comments, email FLORIDA TODAY Space Reporter Rick Neale at rneale@ or Space Reporter Brooke Edwards at bedwards@ For more space news from the USA TODAY Network, visit Tom Cruise and untitled SpaceX project: 'Mission: Impossible' star who lives in Florida may shoot a film in outer space Mission: United Launch Alliance will launch an Atlas V rocket carrying Amazon's second batch of broadband satellites for its Project Kuiper constellation. Amazon's Project Kuiper is Jeff Bezos' attempt to compete with SpaceX founder Elon Musk's Starlink satellite mission. Launch window: 1:25 p.m. ET Monday, June 16, 2025 Launch location: Launch complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida Sonic booms: No Trajectory: Northeast − it's possible the ULA Atlas V rocket will be visible outside of Florida after liftoff, from Cape Canaveral to New Jersey. Live coverage starts two hours minutes before liftoff at : You can watch live rocket launch coverage from USA TODAY Network's Space Team, which consists of FLORIDA TODAY space reporters Rick Neale and Brooke Edwards and visuals journalists Craig Bailey, Malcolm Denemark and Tim Shortt. Our Space Team will provide up-to-the-minute updates in a mobile-friendly live blog, complete with a countdown clock, at starting 90 minutes before liftoff. You can download the free FLORIDA TODAY app, which is available in the App Store or Google Play, or type into your browser. Shown is the National Weather Service-Melbourne radar, which shows conditions in real-time for the Space Coast, Brevard County, Orlando and other parts of Florida. The current date and time show up on the bottom right of this radar embed; otherwise, you may need to clear your cache. ULA provided a helpful graphic (see above) that shows the Atlas V launch of Kuiper 2 for Amazon and its intended flight path and launch visibility. Note: Cities in the Space Coast of Florida, which is in Brevard County and measures 72 miles of coast, include Titusville, Mims, Port St. John, Merritt Island, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Grant-Valkaria and Sebastian. Launch, Space Coast, east Orlando, near University of Central Florida, Bithlo, the northern part of the Treasure Coast, Indian River County, Sebastian, Vero Beach, parts of Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill 1: Launch + 30 seconds, Space Coast, Orlando, the Treasure Coast, Indian River County, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill, Volusia County, St. Augustine, Ocala, Lakeland area 2: Launch + 90 seconds, which includes PLF Jettison or separation and jettison of the payload fairing: Space Coast, Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Oak Hill, Port Orange, Volusia County, Treasure Coast, Indian River County, Martin County, St. Lucie County, Orlando, Sanford, Kissimmee, Central Florida, Ocala, Lakeland, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach 3: Launch + 150 seconds, which includes solid rocket booster jettison, visibility extends to Sebring, Winter Haven, Palatka, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Manatee County, Sarasota County, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Collier County, Lee County, Clearwater, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, southern Georgia, Savannah, Georgia, parts of the Caribbean, the Bahamas 4: Launch + 210 seconds, which includes booster separation, Tallahassee, Panama City, Panhandle, Big Bend area of Florida; visibility extends beyond Florida to Georgia, South Carolina, parts of North Carolina 5: Launch + 270 seconds, ULA Atlas V rocket launch visibility extends beyond Florida to these other states and cities: Georgia; Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; Columbus, Georgia Alabama; Dothan, Alabama; just outside Birmingham, Alabama Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; just outside Huntsville, Tennessee; just outside Nashville, Tennessee Kentucky South Carolina; Spartanburg, South Carolina North Carolina; High Point, North Carolina; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina Virginia; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia West Virginia; Charleston, West Virginia Maryland; Washington, Maryland Delaware; Annapolis, Delaware; Dover, Delaware 6: Launch + 330 seconds, ULA Atlas V rocket launch visibility extends beyond Florida to these other states and cities: New Jersey: Trenton, New Jersey; New York, New Jersey Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Erie, Pennsylvania Ohio: Cleveland, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Toledo, Ohio Indiana: just outside Indianapolis, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana Michigan: Detroit, Michigan Kentucky: just outside Louisville, Kentucky Rhode Island: Providence, Rhode Island Connecticut: Hartford, Connecticut Massachusetts: Boston, Massachusetts New York: Binghamton, New York; Albany, New York 7: Launch + 390 seconds, visibility of Atlas V rocket may be possible in these states: Alabama Tennessee Kentucky Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Virginia West Virginia Ohio Indiana Michigan Delaware Maryland New Jersey Pennsylvania New York Rhode Island Connecticut Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont Maine Toronto, Canada The above guidelines are estimates based on the graphic provided by ULA. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida rocket launch: Will Atlas V be seen in Fort Myers after liftoff
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Familiar 'Friends' star first auditioned to play Monica but thinks she lost the role for being 'bigger size than the rest'
Could you imagine heading up to apartment 20 at 485 Grove St., or maybe popping by at Central Perk, and seeing someone other than Courteney Cox in the role of Monica Geller? Hello, are you there? Quick, huff on these smelling salts. We're sorry to have sent you into a catatonic state. But the truth is that the cast of Friends did not just happen. It came about through a lengthy process that included some trial and error. And as actress Jessica Hecht, who later played Susan on the NBC sitcom, recently revealed to the good people at Parade, she was nearly cast in the primary role. Though Hecht added that she now thinks she was "a total backup," she then explained that she and the casting director, Ellie Kanner, were chums since high school, having grown up in a small town in Connecticut. When Hecht's agent heard they were still reading people for the parts, she suggested that Hecht head over. "I went in, mostly excited to see Ellie Kanner, and then they started to read me for Monica," she recalled. Obviously, she didn't land the part, and as Hecht told it, "I think looking at me back then, I'm tall and I just had a bigger size than the rest. Now I look at it, and I think how perfect Courteney was, I would have been more of a Lisa [Kudrow], just physically and energetically." As is frequently the case, performers who do well in auditions often make their way into a series in supporting roles. Hecht made 13 appearances as Susan Bunch, the new partner of Ross' (David Schwimmer) ex-wife Carol. But Hecht had some criticism for the way the character developed. "They just wanted a lesbian that didn't look exactly like lesbians had previously, let's be honest," she said. "Use your imagination!' she joked. "They're wonderful. They come in all sizes.' In another recent interview, Hecht admitted some relief that her character never grew into one of the lead roles. "The responsibility of that is more than most people could manage," she said. "That show affecting so many people's lives," she added, "and the actors on that show affecting so many people's lives ... I watch it with awe, and I understand the need for that." Post-Friends, Hecht has worked in films directed by Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, and David Gordon Green, and had key roles on shows like Breaking Bad and Red Oaks. She's also been nominated for three Tony Awards, including one just this year for her turn in the vaccination drama Eureka Day. For 30 years, she has been married to Adam Bernstein, a director of film, television, and several legendary music videos like the iconic "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot, one of the 20th century's most lasting works of art. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Buzz Feed
4 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
21 Chic Patterned Dresses
A smocked long-sleeve dress with a whimsical silhouette and charming floral pattern sure to have all your ~buds~ wishing they owned your wardrobe. An embroidered tulle dress that'll have you looking like the heroine of all your favorite romantasy novels every time you wear it. A square-neck balloon-sleeve dress sure to make you feel like the Belle of the ball. Softball, that is. On second thought, your team might not be thrilled you wore this instead of a practical shirt and joggers. Oh well, you look fantastic. A long-sleeve mesh mini for people who love feeling pretty in pink. A tie-front satin dress — this piece is gonna make *you* the queen B of the ladies who lunch. A bell-sleeve beaut that'll delight fashion-savvy folks who want a comfy, dressy, and darling outfit ALL IN ONE. A midi-length satin dress with a cowl neck — wear this to a summer wedding and spend all your time post-ceremony taking photos that look like a staged shoot in your very own custom couture. A cutout midi in a royal purple watercolor print — this'll certainly be the showstopping centerpiece of your wardrobe. A one-shoulder bodycon great for everything from roaming the streets of Greenwich Village with your best friends to a baby shower with your estranged friends to the wedding of your nemesis. Sorry, I've been watching a lot of Sex And The City lately. But, um, Carrie Bradshaw would totally love this look. A knee-length floral dress that'll be a lighthearted, flirty, and fun outfit you'll find yourself gravitating to day after day. A wrap dress with a pattern sure to scream "warm weather is here and SO AM I!" when you wear it. A belted gown reviewers love for its flowing material. If you want a dress worth twirling and swirling in, you've found it! A button-down beauty with three-quarter-length sleeves that'll protect your shoulders on hot summer days when you don't want your skin cooked by the sun's rays. A jungle-print dress sure to have you feeling out-of-this-world lovely, even when stuck in your cubicle at work. An embroidered linen pick with floral details that'll leave your gardener heart all aflutter. A graphic maxi dress for sporting a bold, modern look as you strut your stuff in the city. A strappy floral dress — it just might look like you stole this straight off the set of Friends. Cheers to your retro look, you little rebel you. A ruffled puff-sleeve, ruched-bust dress for romantic outdoor dates that start with a walk in the park and end hours later, still walking around and still feeling comfortable and cute as can be. A vibrant halter dress that'll be as colorful as your language. Sorry, Mom. A breezy floral print maxi dress with a charming smocked waist that says, "Yeah, I watched Little House on The Prairie as a kid, but I'm modern and scandalous enough to show my elbows." Which is a real fashion statement if you ask me. A sunflower block print dress ethically made using 100% cotton and hand-printed using plant-based dyes. Because of the hand-printing process, each dress boasts an artistic, imperfect touch and will be genuinely unique. If you're looking for one dress to wear every dang day this summer (and I'm speaking from experience here), this is the one.
