Jeff Bezos canceled? Petition to deny his re-entry to Earth gets 10K signatures
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to be denied re-entry to Earth after he launches into space on his Blue Origin rocket next month.
The tongue-in-cheek petition likened Bezos to Superman villain Lex Luthor. The billionaire is set to fly with his brother and two others, including the winner of a $28 million auction on the first crewed flight of the autonomous New Shepard rocket.
The Change.org petition, titled, 'Petition To Not Allow Jeff Bezos Re-Entry To Earth', urged netizens to sign on because the "fate of humanity is in your hands." It was launched five days ago and is addressed to Blue Origin, the rocket manufacturing company Bezos founded in 2000, and the pilot of the hotly anticipated flight, Newsweek reported.
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At the time of writing, the petition had nearly achieved its immediate goal of 10,000 signatures, with some petitioners suggesting Bezos take SpaceX founder Elon Musk with him too.
"Jeff Bezos is actually Lex Luthor, disguised as the supposed owner of a super successful online retail store," the description reads, adding that he's "actually an evil overlord hellbent on global domination."
"He's also in bed with the flat earth deniers," the petition jokingly claims, adding that "it's the only way they'll allow him to leave the atmosphere." Jose Ortiz, the creator of the petition, suggested that the imminent spaceflight was the perfect opportunity to rid the world of an "evil overlord" as he urged Blue Origin to stop the rocket from returning to its home planet.
Ortiz jokingly added that governments just stood by and watched as Bezos took over the world. He further poked fun at the Amazon founder, accusing him of being in cahoots with "the Epsteins and the Knights Templar." According to Ortiz, keeping Bezos in space was essential before his alleged cabal "enables the 5G microchips and performs a mass takeover."
Bezos and three others will fly up to 62 miles above the Earth's surface on the New Shepard rocket. The apex point is believed to be the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. NASA recognizes 50 miles above the surface as the edge of the atmosphere.
They are set to launch on July 20 to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The innovative vehicle will spend a few minutes in orbit before floating back on parachutes and landing upright.
The rocket is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. The 59ft high vehicle reportedly flies by automation and has room for up to six passengers. The top bid for a seat on the flight stood at $5 million prior to the auction on Saturday. However, it had increased by nearly five times that amount by the time it concluded later in the day.
The identity of the winner will be revealed in the next few weeks, and the proceeds will go to Club for the Future, a charity run by the organization that hopes "to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM," per Blue Origin's website.