Jeff Bezos Memes, Jokes Flood Internet After He Announces Travel to Space: 'Big Divorced Guy Move'

A flood of jokes and memes hit Twitter on Monday after Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he and his brother, Mark Bezos, will be flying to space on July 20. The trip will occur 15 days after Bezos steps down as Amazon's CEO.

Jeff and Mark Bezos will travel aboard a spacecraft engineered by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space travel company. The trip will last 11 minutes and fly 62 miles above Earth's surface. One of the spacecraft's six seats will also be auctioned off. Its bid is currently above $2.8 million.

While some Twitter users expressed awe and support of his upcoming trip, many others made jokes about the CEO's "real" reason for visiting space, using his personal life and the criticisms of business as joking material.

@EversoleMitch wrote, "Finally my wish came true".

@mckelmer wrote, "Don't come back, @JeffBezos." Elmer was merely one of the numerous commenters who wished for Bezos never to return.

Comedian @PFTompkins wrote, "Now he will finally know what it is like to have no choice but to piss in a bag". The comment was a reference to reports earlier this year that Amazon's employees had to urinate inside of bottles in order to save time while working. Amazon forcefully denied the reports until later admitting that it does happen.

@SaysSimonson wrote, "Bezos launching himself into space on an experimental rocket is a big divorced guy move". The joke referenced Bezos' imminent divorce from his wife, announced in January.

Another user, @mbalazo, also riffed on the divorce, asking, "Hmm I wonder why the recently single Jeff Bezos is going to space???" He then attached a picture of Google Image search results for "sexy aliens." The results showed scantily clad female aliens from popular science-fiction films like Star Trek, The Fifth Element and Guardians of the Galaxy.

@davenewworld_2 wrote, "When me or you have a midlife crisis, we get a new car. When Jeff Bezos has a midlife crisis, he goes to space."

@swindsor wrote, "Maybe Jeff Bezos, his best friend, girlfriend, and girlfriend's brother going into space is the Fantastic Four reboot we've been waiting for."

The joke is a reference to the Marvel Comics superhero team. The team consists of four scientists who all gain superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays while travelling in space.

@DcComicstr_1 also made a comic book reference, writing, "Lex luthor fancast:
@JeffBezos". The Twitter user posted an image of Bezos next to one of Lex Luthor—a super-wealthy DC Comics supervillain who uses cutting-edge technology in his schemes. Both Jeff Bezos and Luther are bald.

@anityle joked, "jeff bezos is going to space to pay off the intergalactic trillionaire warlord x ae a-xii".

@megturney made a prediction, writing, "So....Jeff Bezos is just randomly announcing he's going into space next week? I've got $20 something blows up while he's gone. Or aliens. Or aliens blow something up. Something."

@actdottv wrote, "What a world we live in... #JeffBezos." The account then shared an image depicting Bezos' as Dr. Evil, the space-bound supervillain of the Austin Powers spy spoof movie series. In the movies, Dr. Evil often makes silly demands in exchange for not destroying the world.

Bezos' "demands" listed in @actdottv's image referenced Amazon's past payments of $0 in U.S. federal income tax, Bezos' $1.2 billion custom-built yacht (which contains a smaller yacht inside of it), Amazon's opposition to unionizing its workers, reports of company workers not having time for bathroom breaks and the Senate's Endless Frontier Act, which could award $10 billion of taxpayer money to Blue Origin.

@Jason_Sheppard_ wrote, "Next month Jeff Bezos is going to space. Big whoop. Next month I'm going here." He included an image of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant.

@Volscente79 wrote, "Jeff training" and included an animated GIF of a man in sneakers and jeans riding atop a small rocket as it travels through the stars.

@dadiomov wrote, "Rare photo of Jeff Bezos logging into Expedia in 1998 trying to search for a flight to space. Technology has come a long way." He included an image of Jeff Bezos using a desktop computer in an office with a spray-painted banner on the wall reading "amazon.com". The image likely comes from the Amazon CEO's earlier days starting his online business.

Newsweek contacted Amazon for comment.