MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Jeff Bezos mocked for cutting William Shatner mid-speech to pop champagne after landing

There was a cringe moment after the landing of Blue Origin rocket when William Shatner was sharing his experience and Jeff Bezos cut him off mid-speech

As Willliam Shatner aka Captain Kirk blasted off into space in Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, fans lauded the actor as he became the oldest person in space at 90. The unprecedented trip in the rocket named New Shepard took place at 9:30 am ET on Wednesday, October 13. The flight was streamed live on Blue Origin's YouTube channel. Social media sleuths called out a 'cringe' moment after the landing when Shatner became a little emotional sharing his profound experience of being in space, but Bezos cut him off mid-speech to pop the champagne. 

Over the span of about 10 minutes, Shatner and crewmates took off atop a hydrogen-fueled rocket, climbed to the edge of space more than 62 miles up and enjoyed three to four minutes of weightlessness, before plunging back to a gentle parachute-assisted touchdown.

"It was so moving to me. This experience is something unbelievable," Shatner said after the landing. He also added that Bezos gave him the most profound experience he could imagine. "I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened ... it's extraordinary," he said.

RELATED ARTICLES

Captain Kirk in space? William Shatner, 90, to join Blue Origin's next flight

How to watch and live stream William Shatner blasting off into space on Blue Origin

This was Blue Origin's second trip to space. Blue Origin's first flight to space on July 20 saw Wally Funk become the oldest person to have been into space at 82, who was accompanied by Bezos himself and his brother Mark. Before the launch, Shatner said, "I want to see space, I want to see the Earth, I want to see what we need to do to save Earth. I want to have a perspective that hasn't been shown to me before. That's what I'm interested in seeing."

'Massively awkward moment there...'

Netizens slammed Bezos for cutting Shatner mid-speech to pop the champagne whilst he described his experience of flying into space. One person tweeted, "Massively awkward moment there, as Shatner starts telling Bezos about how profound space was, but all Bezos wants to do is open some champagne. #BlueOrigin." Another wrote, "F**k sake Jeff Bezos! Why did you cut @WilliamShatner off mid-speech to pop f**king champagne!? #BlueOrigin" One tweet read, "I was watching that part cringing. This man has had a transformative experience and you want to spray champagne? Ugh."

Another social media user said, "Watching William Shatner having a poetic moment in the middle of a load of billionaires popping champagne is so fascinating. #BlueOrigin #skynews." One user wrote, "As the rest of his crewmates scream in celebration and get sprayed with bubbly by Bezos, #Shatner gets a little emotional recounting his short experience in space #BlueOrigin."