Wendy’s Under Criticism for Not Apologizing to Katy Perry for Comments on Blue Origin Space Flight

Wendy’s restaurant has released a statement after taking a jab at Katy Perry in the aftermath of Blue Origin’s all-female flight crew’s space trip.

Perry was roasted for her reaction after the spaceship landed on Earth, and Wendy’s joined in the fun.

However, an insider close to the situation expressed disappointment with how the restaurant conducted itself.

Wendy’s restaurant was among those who found issues with the singer after the spaceship landed on Earth, as it bashed her on X.

In one post, the restaurant responded to a post in which an X user wrote, “Katy Perry has returned from space,” by writing, “Can we send her back.”

Reposting images of Perry kissing the ground after Blue Origin returned to Earth, Wendy’s X account humorously captioned it as, “I kissed the ground and I liked it,” making a playful reference to the singer’s popular 2008 song, “I Kissed a Girl.”

Continuing the playful banter, the restaurant responded to a user’s claim that Perry and the crew were in space for 10 minutes with a witty correction, stating, “Don’t shortchange her, it was 11 minutes.”

In other posts, Wendy’s wrote, “I’m a woman send me to space.” It also posted, “When we said women in stem this isn’t what we meant.”

The response to Wendy’s humorous jabs at Perry was diverse, with some internet users finding them entertaining, while others criticized the restaurant for its lack of professionalism.

A source close to the situation expressed dismay at how Wendy’s handled themselves and noted that they needed to apologize to the singer.

The insider told PEOPLE Magazine, “Wendy’s didn’t make a joke — they made a choice. Their recent posts on X aimed at Katy Perry were not only disrespectful, but blatantly inappropriate.”

They continued, “This wasn’t harmless banter, this was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman.”

According to the insider, “when billion-dollar brands join in, it’s irresponsible.”

They added, “[Wendy’s is] not adding to the conversation, they are dragging it down and this kind of behavior contributes to a culture where women are punished for standing out or a woman daring to do something different is a target.”

Of all the jabs Wendy’s threw at Perry, the one the insider close to the situation found most annoying was their asking her to be sent back to space.

They said, “Telling a woman that she should be ‘sent back’ is shameful bullying and reflects a troubling willingness to tear down in today’s society.”

The insider added, “What’s worse is that the face of Wendy’s is a woman which makes this decision not just hypocritical, but painfully ironic.”

The source continued, “Everyone expected more from a brand with this kind of platform. Wendy’s should ‘do the right thing’ (the name of one of the core values) apologize and do better in the future.”

In response to the calls for an apology to Perry, Wendy’s released a statement to PEOPLE Magazine. However, rather than apologizing, they expressed their appreciation of Perry’s talent.

The statement read, “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.”

Perhaps grateful for a safe return to Earth after the short trip to space, Perry kissed the ground when Blue Origin landed.

Her reaction generated so much buzz on the internet after pictures of her gesture went viral.

Some netizens slammed the “Dark Horse” singer with one person saying, “Oh, dramatic. You were there for 20 seconds, miss girl,” one user wrote on X. Another said: “All that hype for an ELEVEN-MINUTE flight. I thought she was going for a week or something, considering how much people were freaking out.”

Another person added, “Katy behaving like she’s returning after being stuck on another planet and not like she’s been in ‘space for a whole 2 minutes.”