Natasha Lyonne is not interested in criticizing other women just because everyone else is doing it, thank you very much.
Speaking to Jessica M. Goldstein for a cover story for Marie Claire's new Power Issue, the Poker Face actress goes on what Goldstein calls "a surprisingly intense tangent" about the Blue Origin space mission and its all-female crew.
The mission has been widely mocked, with Katy Perry at the center of the unflattering commentary. The pop star was on board the spacecraft alongside TV presenter Gayle King, journalist Lauren Sánchez, and film producer Kerianne Flynn, as well as aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and bioastronautics researcher Amanda Nguyễn.
"I’m not into…trending takedowns of other women," Lyonne tells Marie Claire when the subject of Perry arises. She calls said takedowns a "bloodsport."
The actress continues, "I don’t find it charming…I think all the women on that rocket were plenty accomplished, frankly. And I do think that if it had been a bunch of men, nobody would’ve said jack sh*t."
Many celebrities have expressed their dismay over Blue Origin: Emily Ratajkowski said she was "disgusted" with it; Olivia Wilde sarcastically commented on the memes the mission inspired; and Olivia Munn called the endeavor "gluttonous."
Meanwhile, Lily Allen criticized "Katy Perry and her mates all going up to space for 12 minutes," calling the whole thing "out of touch." However, the British star eventually backtracked on some of her comments, saying on her podcast, "There was actually no need for me to bring her name into it, and it was my own internalized misogyny."
The Russian Doll actress' conversation with Marie Claire takes us through some wild yet delightful twists and turns, cycling through the topics of mortality, child stardom, addiction, her latest work, and collaboration between women—as exemplified by the production company, Animal Pictures, which she co-founded with her friend Maya Rudolph.
Commenting on the work Animal has been able to put out into the world, Lyonne says, "I think when we talk about a woman stepping into her power, it does look something like this. You’ve got to get on the front lines."
