Katy Perry was one of the passengers aboard the Blue Origin space rocket that departed on a round-trip to space earlier this week. Alongside Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn, the flight took them on an 11-minute trip to space that prompted all manner of reactions online. While some celebrities have praised the historic nature of the flight, others have shared their criticism. One notable and unexpected feud that has popped up is between Katy Perry and the fast food chain Wendy's. Let's explain:
On Monday, Perry and her all-women crew departed for space. After they landed, footage of the historic moment was shared, including videos of the women inside the spacecraft in zero gravity. The social media account Pop Crave tweeted that Perry had returned to space, prompting the official Wendy's account to write a controversial post on X: "Can we send her back."
The joke did not go well with Perry's team. “We understand the internet loves a joke, but there’s a clear difference between humor and targeted hostility and this wasn’t harmless banter. This was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman," said a source to PEOPLE.
"Wendy’s didn’t make a joke — they made a choice. Their recent posts were not only disrespectful but blatantly inappropriate.”
The source continued to criticize Wendy's response by highlighting the fact that its logo is a woman's face. "What’s worse is that the face of Wendy’s is a woman, which makes this decision not just hypocritical, but painfully ironic," they continued.
Then Kesha got involved
Kesha shared a post that made everything just a little bit more intriguing. After Wendy's comment went viral, Kesha shared a selfie of herself smiling as she took a drink from a Wendy's cup.
Fans began to read between the lines; while on the surface, this may all appear to be unrelated, both musicians are connected by the producer Dr. Luke, who's been a longtime collaborator of Perry and produced her last album, "143."
In 2014, Kesha sued Dr. Luke on accusations of "physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse over a 10-year period." He countersued for defamation, and both parties settled the case in 2023.
What did Wendy's say?
On Thursday, Wendy's addressed their original statement, sharing that they respect Perry and the social media post was made with good intentions.
"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," said a spokesperson for the brand.