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Katy Perry's trip to space criticized as more out of touch than out of this world

Katy Perry embarked on a space tourism trip Monday, courtesy of Jeff Bezos' company. It's the latest PR misstep for the singer.

The six-person crew, which also included the CBS News anchor Gayle King and Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, flew just above the Kármán line, the imaginary border of Earth's atmosphere, before returning safely to Texas. Many critics have noted the pollutants that can be produced by rocket launches, especially frivolous ones — a reaction Perry could have foreseen, given all the heat celebrities such as Taylor Swift and the Kardashians have gotten for flying on private jets. Still, it's hard to think of a 10-minute joyride in a privately funded rocket as more than a vanity project — literally fulfilling a pop star's dream to "make space and science glam" and "put the 'ass' in astronaut," in Perry's own words — when the majority of Americans are worried about earthly concerns including affording a carton of eggs, staying employed, and paying off student-loan debt.

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