Details about Jeff Bezos' partner Lauren Sánchez's lavish gift from the Kardashians spark outrage: 'This feels like a nightmare'
You might have heard about the joyride into the stratosphere that a group of celebrities took in April aboard a Blue Origin mission. As fast as photos of the "crew" of A-listers clothed in matching violet jumpsuits flooded the internet, the PR stunt turned into a nightmare, and it just keeps coming.
Blue Origin is a space tourism company that is revolutionizing space travel. Though the flights do not go very far into space, they are considered a major first step toward future space exploration. However, many have criticized space tourism as a gluttonous waste of money — money that could make a considerable difference if used elsewhere.
Though the crew safely returned with, presumably, a newfound respect for our planet. However, the rampant consumerism didn't end there. For surviving the mere 11-minute tour of the edge of space, Lauren Sánchez, billionaire Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' fiancée, was gifted a $7,000 purse from the Kardashians.
Mariam Qayum of She Finds reported that the purse was a "dazzling Judith Leiber Couture UFO-shaped clutch. The statement piece, encrusted with baguette and geometric crystals, originally retailed for $6,995."
The purse and the flight received the same backlash.
According to She Finds, some of the reactions on social media included: "It's just all so tone deaf," "maybe just suggesting that money could've gone to better causes that are needed," and "that money could have been used to feed several families in need."
A similar message resounds from the audience regarding the wasteful Blue Origin flight.
As everyday members of society transform their lives to lessen the strain on Earth's resources, it can feel frustrating to see the world's most privileged do the opposite. "And to think that every time I throw away a toothbrush I still feel guilty for the unrecycled plastic," said one commenter on an Instagram post from Blue Origin.
Billionaires emit a million times more carbon pollution than the average person, according to Oxfam. Between yachts, private jets, and the dirty energy companies that billionaires run and invest in.
"This has to change. These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long," said Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO of Oxfam.
"This feels like a nightmare," summarized one flight critic on Instagram.
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