In the first episode of Fox's Stars on Mars, we're introduced to 12 celebrity astronauts, aka "celebronauts," and one celebrity host. Over 24 days, the group will compete in challenges and vote each other out one by one. Among the Stars on Mars cast are Ariel Winter and Lance Armstrong — one is an actress known for Modern Family, the other is a former professional road-racing cyclist, neither is an actual astronaut.
The new reality TV show kicked off with celebrities entering their quarters one or two at a time. It appeared no one knew who was going to be part of the series beforehand, so it was a complete surprise to all. Almost all of the other contestants were already there when Armstrong made his entrance.
"Lance Armstrong is a real friggin' astronaut. He is a real astronaut. He is Lance Armstrong. You need to Google him, you need to know everything about him, because he is so cool," Winter told the camera in her confessional.
As the group was settling in with one another, Winter looked at Porsha Williams Guobadia and said, "The fact that we have an astronaut is so crazy." "You said what?" Porsha asked, looking puzzled. "I'm so confused, like is he gonna end up being our judge?" Winter continued.
Just so we're all on the same page, Neil Armstrong, who was the real-life astronaut who Winter is mistaking Lance Armstrong with, is the first man to walk on the moon. He was born in 1930, so if he were still alive today, he would be 93 years old (which is just one year older than William Shatner, aka Stars on Mars' Mission Control, but more than 40 years older than Lance).
Later in the episode, Winter realized she mixed up the two Armstrongs. "I just realized I made a huge mistake," Winter said to Williams Guobadia, confirming she thought Lance was Neil. "That was part of my, like, fear of coming on the show was that I was going to say something stupid, and I literally, like, I outdid myself," Winter said in her confessional.
It appeared to be a completely innocent mistake (and we're sure Winter isn't the only person in the world who thought that). Still, we can have a laugh about it.
Stars on Mars fans react to Ariel Winter mistaking Lance Armstrong for Neil Armstrong
She thought Lance Armstrong was a real astronaut and I was so confused until I realized she was confusing him with Neil Armstrong. Oh my…🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ #StarsOnMarsJune 6, 2023
Oh no Ariel Winter, oh no #StarsOnMarsJune 6, 2023
She called Lance Armstrong an astronaut 🥴☠️ #StarsOnMarsJune 6, 2023
She thinks he’s Neil Armstrong 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #StarsOnMarsJune 6, 2023
Now Ariel 🤦🏾♂️ #StarsOnMars pic.twitter.com/FUF9giefqVJune 6, 2023
not them thinking Lance Armstrong is Neil Armstrong!!! lmao loving this show already #StarsOnMarsJune 6, 2023
They done called Lance every name except his name. He’s not an astronaut (Neil) and he’s not a black trumpeter (Louie) I’m just curious what other Armstrong names he’ll get #StarsOnMarsJune 6, 2023
New episodes of Stars on Mars premiere every Monday at 8 pm ET/PT on Fox. Episodes are available to stream on-demand via Hulu the next day.
