Wendy’s reacts to backlash for poking fun at Katy Perry — refuses to apologize
Wendy’s is not looking to shake things up with Katy Perry.
The fast-food chain recently responded to the backlash it received after cracking a joke about the pop star, 40, launching into space on Monday as part of the all-female Blue Origin crew.
After a series of posts on X poking fun at Perry, the burger giant has explained its stance.
“We always bring a little spice to our socials, but Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world-talent,” the company told People in a statement Thursday.
Wendy’s beef with Perry came to a head after Pop Crave posted an update about her launch into space on X.
The pop culture account said, “Katy Perry has returned from space,” to which the official Wendy’s X account responded, “Can we send her back.”
The jokes didn’t stop there, as Wendy’s also commented beneath a photo of Perry kissing the ground after she returned to Earth.
The account wrote, “I kissed the ground and i liked it,” a play on the artist’s hit track “I Kissed a Girl.”
Fans flocked to the comments section to share their upset over Wendy’s riffing of Perry, with one source telling People that the post wasn’t cheeky as much as it was cheap.
An insider close to the situation told the outlet, “Wendy’s didn’t make a joke — they made a choice.”
“This wasn’t harmless banter, this was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman… when billion-dollar brands join in, it’s irresponsible.”
Also part of the all-women Blue Origin NS-31 crew that took the historic flight were Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, astronaut and bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.
Sánchez, 55, wasn’t thrilled with Wendy’s comments either, telling People, “I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don’t just work here, but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle.”
She added, “Come with me. I’ll show you what this is about, and it’s really eye-opening.”
Along with the online teasing, the 11-minute mission came under fire from many of Perry’s peers, who felt the trip was a waste.
“What are they doing?” Olivia Munn questioned while on “Today With Jenna & Friends” earlier this month. “I know this probably isn’t the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now.”
“I know this is probably obnoxious but like, it’s so much money to go to space, and there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs,” she continued. “Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous. Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?”
Olivia Wilde also ripped into the Blue Origin endeavor on her Instagram Story Monday.
“Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess,” she captioned a photo of Perry returning to Earth and kissing the ground.
King, 70, also stepped in to defend herself and her fellow astronauts.
“Anybody that’s criticizing it doesn’t really understand what is happening here,” the CBS journalist told People after landing. “We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women from young girls about what this represents.”
