Why does the internet want Katy Perry to die in space?

Pop star Katy Perry is set to join Blue Origin’s all-female space flight next week, and there are a surprising number of people cracking japes that they hope she doesn’t come back. Online, countless users are jokingly (?) wishing Perry stays in space permanently, leaving KatyCats—the stan name her fandom gave themselves—baffled and upset.

While the exact motivation for these grim jokes is debatable, some point to her controversial ties to Dr. Luke, and the fact that her most recent album flopped, potentially signaling a sharp decline in relevancy. There has also been criticism of the flight generally for what creator @blakelythornton called a “rebranding [of] oligarchy as feminism,” considering just one of the six-person crew is an actual astronaut. (Actress Olivia Munn quipped, “There’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs … I think it’s a bit gluttonous”). In other words, it feels a bit tone-deaf for celebrities to burn a hole in the atmosphere for an 11-minute flight to space considering today’s economic and cultural climate.

Also, ragging on rich celebrities is an evergreen hobby.

Why is Katy Perry going to space?

Perry wanted to go to space the moment she heard that it might be possible. In an interview with Elle, she said she’s been investigating methods to get up there for nearly 20 years.

“Even when Blue Origin was first talking about commercial travel to space, I was like, ‘Sign me up! I’m first in line,’” she declared.

When Jeff Bezos‘ space tech company decided to make its next flight into the suborbital atmosphere ladies only, Perry got a call. Although she didn’t say she isn’t at all nervous, to her it felt like fate.

“I take pause in those moments and ask the universe to give me confirmations,” she continued. “And I really felt very sure when they sent me the picture of the space pod, because on the front of the pod is a feather, and that’s my mom’s nickname for me. And so I was like, Okay, I see it.”

Blue Origin announced the all-female flight in March and will launch it on April 14, 2025.

The dark jokes about Katy Perry’s space adventure

After Pop Crave’s X account posted about Perry’s space flight on April 7, the jokes wishing her to never return started pouring in. Others (hopefully) joked about her dying, or perhaps getting into a body-snatcher situation that would end in humiliation.

X user @m8ss3ducti0n imagined a “comedy horror movie plot where a washed up popstar goes into space as a publicity stunt only for an alien to takeover her body thinking she’s an important figure on earth only to land and realise nobody cares about them.”

Everyone wants katy perry to die in space so bad

— 📸 maria (@bittercherryjam) April 8, 2025

katy perry is going to die in space this IS my year

— digitalmonster (@afilthysanchez) February 28, 2025

if katy perry dies in space then god is real and i’ll become a catholic again not even jokinh

— 🌌saturn the newly wed // #1 spudhut fan (@gracechasitiism) April 8, 2025

Others felt like this could be the perfect opportunity to play a prank on the singer.

“When Katy Perry goes to space we should move the earth so it’s not in the same place when she comes back,” wrote user @Themb0flcation.

KatyCats react to the cruel jokes

The hate got to the point that it upset the die-hard Katy Perry fans. They condemned the death wishes upon their fave as depraved—as though they wouldn’t be doing the same if it were an artist they didn’t like.

“People wishing Katy Perry would die in space. How sick people can be, how disgusting humanity can be on a social network,” said @dkeyarc.

How Katy Perry’s reputation fueled online hate

Perry’s last album flopped hard, with its singles languishing low on Billboard lists even though she was once considered one of the biggest names in pop music. Of course, with the economy in trouble, it’s also a great time to drag rich people for blowing hundreds of thousands on a ticket to sort-of-outer-space.

However, the jokes and the failure of “143” might be related. Back in September 2024, pop culture analysts theorized that Perry’s latest feminist anthems didn’t land due to her collaboration with producer Lukasz Gottwald, popularly known as Dr. Luke. Although she did stop working with him after Kesha accused him of rape and abuse, she reconnected after the related lawsuits were settled.

Despite the settlement, feminists and Kesha fans alike retained their poor opinions of Dr. Luke, knowing that victims often decide to avoid court battles with alleged abusers due to the trauma involved in the process. Perry’s reputation doesn’t appear to have recovered after she decided to work with Dr. Luke on the new album.

Some also point out that Perry accepted a Cybertruck from Elon Musk last year. On April 22, 2024, Perry posted a photo of herself to X posing with the vehicle and thanking the billionaire with the hashtag #idol. Musk may not have been as reviled back then, but he still had plenty of haters.

“She did a little photoshoot with a cybertruck thanking Elon,” said u/bunnymeowmeow on a Reddit thread about the Perry hate. “Everyone was already angry at Elon when she did this.”

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