Anne McClain's Space Crime

Overview

Anne McClain's Space Crime refers to allegations that astronaut Anne McClain committed identity theft and improperly accessed her estranged wife's private financial records while on the International Space Station. If the allegations prove true, it may be the first crime committed in outer space. Twitter users joked about the news by excitedly posting about "Lesbian Space Crime" in a similar manner to jokes about Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism.

Background

On August 23rd, 2019, the New York Times reported^[1] that astronaut Anne McClain had been accused by her estranged spouse Summer Worden of logging into Worden's private financial records and committing identity theft. McClain, who is currently on Earth, had accessed Worden's accounts while on the space station, and Worden's bank was able to track financial activity on her account to NASA. McClain denied the allegations, saying she was shepherding the couple's intertwined finances and wanted to make sure Worden had money to care for the couple's child. It may be the first allegation of criminal wrongdoing in space.

Developments

On August 25th, 2019, AFP News Agency tweeted about the story,^[2] which helped it go viral on Twitter (shown below).

Twitter users expressed amusement at the headline, joking about the idea of "gay space crime." Twitter user @heytherejeffro joked that "lesbian space crime" is the "only good thing to come out of 2019" (shown below, left). Twitter user @SSBMagi tweeted "SHE'S A LESBIAN SPACE PIRATE" (shown below, right).

Others were less amused by the story, pointing out the content of the crime was more sad than funny. User @DeAnneSmith tweeted, "yes yes everyone lesbian space crime seems funny and fun but also like probably an abusive situation for real? (this tweet brought to you by a real downer of a lesbian: me)" (shown below, left). User @20thcenturywmen agreed, saying it was "kinda sad" (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References