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Astronaut Amanda Nguyen says backlash from Blue Origin flight left her depressed
In a statement shared on Instagram, Nguyen says she faced a ‘tsunami of harassment’ after the all-female spaceflight
TL;DR
- Amanda Nguyen, the first Vietnamese woman in space on a Blue Origin flight, experienced significant depression and harassment afterward.
- She described the backlash as a "tsunami of harassment" and an "avalanche of misogyny" that impacted her mental health.
- The negative reaction led to billions of hostile impressions, causing her to be unable to leave bed for a week and cry when speaking to Blue Origin staff.
- Nguyen, a civil rights activist for sexual assault survivors and a bioastronautics research scientist, felt her professional achievements were overshadowed.
- She drew parallels between her family's refugee history fleeing Vietnam and her own journey, stating 'We came on boats, and now we’re on spaceships.'
- The flight also brought positive outcomes, including media attention for her women's health research and advocacy for rape survivors.
- Eight months later, Nguyen reports that the "fog of grief has started to lift" and she is recovering, crediting support and her 'survivor self' for her strength.