Forbes names space mess with Katy Perry/Gayle as one of the top 2025 PR disasters

2025-12-16T19:06:39Z

Five Big PR Snafus In 2025: Katy Perry, Notre Dame, Fendi, More

The year 2025 has seen its share of public relations disasters. The thing is many of these could have been avoided if the individuals or companies involved had thought out their actions beforehand. Every year sees its share of public relations nightmares. This one is no exception. The thing is that often they don't have to happen. Prior planning to avoid the potential is one key. Another is to fess up that you made a mistake, apologize and move on. The public is surprisingly forgiving for straight-shooters. Digging in is not the way to go.

• Space Mess With Katy Perry/Gayle King: The pop star and morning show host claimed they were "astronauts" when they landed after their $1-million, 11-minute joy ride into suborbital space. Activities during their five minutes of weightlessness: singing a song, pulling out a flower and taking selfies. Neil Armstrong or Alan Shepard? I don’t think so.

The stunt was clearly designed to generate media coverage, and it did. Unfortunately, it's not what was expected. To complicate matters, the two space tourists dug in, standing by the astronaut allusion. Bad move all the way around. What was the company thinking when it originally selected these passengers, anyway?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2025/12/16/five-big-pr-snafus-in-2025-katy-perry-notre-dame-fendi-more/