Days after throwing some social media shade at Katy Perry and her Blue Origin flight, Wendy’s responds to the backlash it has received over the comment.
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Just after the pop icon returned to Earth following an 11-minute outer space experience, the fast-food chain had some snark to give. Responding to the Pop Crave post about the flight on X, Wendy’s wrote, “Can we send her back.”
The remark was met with both humor and criticism. A source close to Perry spoke to PEOPLE about how Wendy’s owes her an apology.
“Wendy’s didn’t make a joke – they made a choice,” the insider stated. “Their recent posts on X aimed at Katy Perry were not only disrespectful but blatantly inappropriate.”
Continuing to criticize the fast-food chain, the source declared, “This wasn’t harmless banter, this was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman.”
The insider then noted, “[Wendy’s is] not adding to the conversation, they’re 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.”
Wendy’s Issues a Statement About the Katy Perry Comment
Meanwhile, Wendy’s issued a statement to People about the remark, but did not apologize to Katy Perry for it.
“We always bring a little spice to our soials,” the statement reads. “But Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world talent.”
However, that statement was not enough for the source. “Telling a woman that she should be ‘sent back’ is shameful bullying and reflects a troubling willingness to tear down in today’s society,” they remarked. “What’s worse is that the face of Wendy is a woman, which makes this decision not just hypocritical, but painfully ironic.”
The source noted that everyone expects more from a brand with “this kind” of platform. They encouraged Wendy’s to do the “right thing” and apologize. “Do better in the future,” they noted.
Perry went up in space with Blue Origin’s first all-female crew earlier this week. Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez were also among those on the flight.