Good Riddance: In a World of Katy Perrys, Be a Seth Rogen

Faux feminism in space, going off-script on planet Earth, and speaking out as a moral obligation.

Welcome back to Good Riddance, our Saturday series where we gather in the comments to let something go from the week before.

You’ve likely heard by now of the rather cringe-worthy all-female flight last week on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spacecraft that took a group of influential women in couture jumpsuits to the edge of space for eleven minutes. Pop singer Katy Perry was one of them, alongside Bezos’ wife-to-be, Lauren Sánchez, journalist Gayle King, producer Kerianne Flynn, and two extremely educated and inspiring women who very much deserved to go on a mission to space, though perhaps under different circumstances than these—aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and bioastronautics research scientist and activist, Amanda Nguyen. The latter two’s involvement in the mission (which included conducting research during the flight) was grossly overshadowed by out-of-touch soundbites from Sánchez, who branded the trip as bringing “spice to space,” and Perry, who proclaimed, “We are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut.” Feminists everywhere shared a collective sad sigh.

I wondered about this misguided moment posing as women’s empowerment and about these two incredibly well-resourced women who treated the opportunity to go into space as an extravagant, self-promotional excursion, instead of something more, you know…empowering for women everywhere. They chose to highlight how unsexy standard astronaut gear is instead of leveraging the moment to bring attention to any number of horrific orders given by the U.S. government to stop women from pursuing careers and leadership positions in STEM, most notably, at NASA itself.

But as Katy Perry released a small daisy flower from her hands at zero-gravity in space in full hair and makeup glam while high above an Earth she has done little to nothing to protect or save, Seth Rogen was somewhere else, two feet on the ground, hatching a plan to speak out.

The Breakthrough Prize ceremony is considered the “Oscars of Science,” and earlier this month actor Seth Rogen took to the stage to present an award alongside the actor Edward Norton. Rogen used the opportunity to go off-script and speak truthfully and forcefully to the billionaires in the room, including Mark Zuckerberg, Rupert Murdoch, and the feminist space flight sugar daddy himself, Jeff Bezos. “It’s amazing that others in this room underwrote electing a man who, in the last week, single-handedly destroyed all of American science,” Rogen said onstage. “It’s amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 million and RFK Jr., very fast.”

Rogen’s jokes were ultimately cut from the YouTube broadcast. (The Breakthrough Prize said that “several edits were made in order to meet the originally planned run time,” but we all know that’s not true.) Even though Rogen’s comments were removed, they still ricocheted across media landscapes, making waves, and space—not the kind you pay millions to traverse for eleven minutes but the kind needed to fight back against an oligarchy—for others to hopefully follow suit. I was struck by the audacity and bravery of Rogen’s action—of going off-script in the name of integrity and honesty at a time when taking your daisy to space and staying quiet is much easier.

This week, I’m saying good riddance to silence in the face of oppression and to maintaining decorum over ruffling feathers or wallets. I’m thinking of ways each and every one of us can do something, anything, in our own small ways to push back against this administration. Keep protesting Tesla and the trillion dollar companies supporting Trump’s agenda. Know your rights and use your knowledge to protect yourself and your community from ICE. Keep the pressure on your elected representatives. Have a conversation with a MAGA person whose ear you might have because they’re a family member or friend. Don’t waste a single moment to push back.

Rogen did away with jokes as usual at that award ceremony and instead named an uncomfortable truth in a very public way, directly to those who needed to hear it, when their only choice was to sit and listen. In doing so, he showed all of us how to show up ready to seize any moment and how to deny those in power our own silence, passivity, and obedience in both large and small ways. This week I’m letting go of the silence and following suit.

What are you letting go of or saying goodbye to from this week?

• April’s The Short and Sweet, Sunday, April 27 at 1pm ET: The next edition of The Short and Sweet, our Zoom get together for paid subscribers, will take place tomorrow, Sunday, April 27 from 1pm-2pm ET. April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, I’ve asked the brilliant poet Sarah Kay to join us. Sarah and I will be talking all about the genre before leading community members in a mini poetry writing workshop. We’ll discuss how to craft the strongest poem possible, how to be your own best editor, and how to use the strongest, boldest parts of your imagination. The Zoom link will be emailed to paid subscribers about thirty minutes before the start of the Zoom.

• My laptop has officially been named: I wanted to share the news with you that I’ve finally chosen a name for my new computer based on all your great suggestions from our Good Riddance post a few weeks ago: Starlight. I loved community member Sari Botton’s “Starlette” as a name, though that word carries a different kind of weight for me so it wasn’t quite right, and I also thought Dead Reckoning by community member Laura Grant was wildly good, as well as Glimmer and, of course, Dolly Parton. Thank you all so much for your input!