Gayle King just went to space! She was part of the first all-female crew on Blue Origin, with Oprah cheering her on. But the moment she boarded that rocket, her face was pure, unadulterated terror! And the internet instantly turned into meme central.
Six incredible women suited up and striding toward history as the first all-female crew to blast into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. But while most of them wore proud, pumped-up grins, Gayle King looked like she just saw her life flash before her eyes.
As the CBS news anchor prepared to board the capsule Monday morning in West Texas, her bestie, Oprah Winfrey, was nearby, cheering her on. But when it came time for Gayle to ring the ceremonial bell before boarding, a moment each crew member celebrated with joy, Gayle’s expression told a very different story. This wasn’t excitement. This was sheer terror. Twitter exploded.
“Her soul left her body at the stairs,” one user wrote. Another chimed in, “Gayle King is all of us when the rollercoaster starts moving too fast.”
To her credit, Gayle didn’t try to play it cool. After the safe 11-minute roundtrip flight that hit nearly 2,000 mph and offered a taste of zero gravity, she came clean in a press conference.
“At that moment, I was so afraid, I just wanted to get into my seat,” she admitted. “Let the training kick in. I just needed to sit down.”
But it wasn’t all fear and panic. Once strapped in, Gayle embraced the experience — and gave reporters a hilarious tidbit from a friend trying to prep her for liftoff.
“A friend from Germany texted me and said, ‘Once you get there, you’re going to feel like it’s sex with the gods,'” Gayle shared, making the room erupt with laughter. “Well, never had sex with a god, to my knowledge… but thanks for the visual.”
Fear aside, the 69-year-old journalist described the trip as unforgettable, awe-inspiring, and deeply emotional. Gayle said she’ll carry the memory forever, from the stillness of space to the glowing neon blues.
Alongside Gayle were Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn, all returned safely to Earth after soaring above the Kármán line and experiencing the magic of weightlessness.
Terrified face or not, Gayle King just did something 99.99% of people on Earth will never do. Whether she was screaming inside or not, she made space history and gave the internet a new favorite reaction meme while doing it.
Congrats Queen!
