Blue Origin forced to delete footage of female astronaut's first time in space following controversy
She says she won't bow to ‘small men on the internet’
Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin were forced to delete a post featuring a female astronaut's first time in space this week.
Emily Calandrelli might be entering the history books as the 100th woman ever to fly to space, but unfortunately, the shine has been taken away from her experience thanks to online trolls.
Calandrelli was among the six 'space tourists' who set out on the ninth human test flight for Blue Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft.
The MIT engineer - who is also known as the TV host, Space Gal - marked this milestone moment with an online video from Blue Origin.
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Sadly for Calandrelli, it wasn't long before the comments were flooded with 'sexualized' replies and she was subjected to trolls making jokes about women in space.
In the video, Calandrelli compared the experience to motherhood, explaining: "I didn’t expect to see so much space, and I kept saying that’s our planet! That’s our planet! It was the same feeling I got when my kids were born, and I was like, 'That’s my baby!'"
With Calandrelli being sexualized in the replies, Blue Origin pulled the entire video. Before being removed from socials, the post was inundated with comments like: "Would you consider yourself the hottest woman to ever go to space? Any other contenders?"
This was one of the tamer comments, and now, Calandrelli has addressed the situation on Instagram. Describing her trip to the stars as 'the most perfect, wonderful dream-achieving experience of my life,' she recounts how that feeling was soon taken away from her. Despite positive comments from many, and some mothers saying they watched the launch stream with their daughters, there was an overwhelming amount of negative reactions.
Saying how she spent her flight home texting her 'space sisters' and crying in her seat, Calandrelli thanked the Southwest stewardess who recognized me, and said: "Don’t let them dull your shine."
While the situation has clearly hit Calandrelli hard, she has a defiant message for her haters: "I refuse to give much time to the small men on the internet. I feel experiences in my soul. It’s a trait I got from my father. We feel every emotion deeply and what a beautiful way that is to experience life. This joy is tattooed on my heart."
Among those behind Callandrelli was fellow female astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who wrote: "We love you!!! From up there, they were truly the smallest men who ever lived. 💖."
This was echoed by space engineer Joan Marie, adding: "You did this for young girls, women, and frankly anyone who has a dream they are working towards. I look forward to seeing your video so I can cry all over again 🥹."
Amanda Nguyen has the upcoming honor of being the first Vietnamese woman to fly to space and had her own message of support for Calandrelli: "Joy is the most radical form of rebellion. We love you! You pushed history forward for all women. We love your joy. 🚀🩷."
Calandrelli has since reshared the footage on her profile, and thankfully, the comments are a lot more supportive this time around.
UniladTech have reached out to Blue Origin for comment but have not had a response at the time of writing.