This week, an eye-catching image mocking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for his tax contributions gained considerable attention after it was showcased near a bus stand in London. The billboard featured a striking comparison between Bezos and renowned pop star Katy Perry, underscored by a provocative caption that read: "If you can send Katy Perry to space, you can afford to pay more taxes." This advertisement made waves just days after Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Bezos, successfully completed its 11th human spaceflight from West Texas. This remarkable launch was particularly noteworthy as it included an all-female crew.

The crew of this historic flight was comprised of notable figures such as Katy Perry herself, celebrated journalist Gayle King, Bezos fiance Lauren Snchez, former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and producer Keri Flynn. The suborbital journey, which crossed the Krmn linea widely recognized boundary of spacelasted approximately 10 minutes, offering the crew a brief yet exhilarating glimpse of Earth from above.

Leading up to the launch, Perry expressed her excitement and the profound impact of her experiences as a mother on her ambitions, stating, "You're brave, you're bold No limitations." She elaborated that her interest in space was fueled by her recent readings on astrophysics, which she found inspiring and thought-provoking. Being a mother just makes you level up with that type of power, she emphasized, connecting her role as a parent to her aspirations in the field of space exploration.

Blue Origin celebrated this flight as a significant milestone for women in the space industry, marking an important moment for representation in a field that has historically been male-dominated. However, the launch did not escape scrutiny on social media. Critics voiced concerns regarding the contrast between extravagant space missions and the ongoing issues of tax avoidance by wealthy individuals like Bezos.

One post that gained traction online pointedly remarked, We are literally just asking them to pay their fair share of taxes, which they dont. This sentiment highlights the rising frustration among the public regarding the perceived inequities in tax contributions among the wealthiest individuals in society. In contrast, defenders of Bezos emerged in the conversation, arguing that he is an American citizen who indeed pays income taxes to the U.S. One user remarked, Jeff Bezos is an American and as such pays income taxes to the US, thank you for coming to my TED talk. Another user countered the criticism by stating, Sending more money to the government is more wasteful than sending money to space.