William Shatner Says Bitter ‘Star Trek’ Co-Stars Slam Him for ‘Publicity’: George Takei ‘Has Never Stopped Blackening My Name’
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William Shatner spoke out against his “Star Trek” co-stars in a recent interview with The Times UK while promoting his book, “Boldly Go, Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder.” Several “Star Trek” actors have criticized Shatner over the years, with the late Uhura actor Nichelle Nichols once telling Shatner the cast found him “cold and arrogant.” Shatner writes in the book that he was “horrified to learn this, ashamed that I hadn’t realized it.”
George Takei, who starred opposite Shatner’s Captain Kirk as Sulu, has criticized Shatner for decades, most recently by publicly mocking Shatner’s space flight on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin last year. “He’s boldly going where other people have gone before,” Takei told Page Six. “He’s a guinea pig…he’s not the fittest specimen of 90 years old, so he’ll be a specimen that’s unfit!”
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“I began to understand that they were doing it for publicity,” Shatner told The Times UK about his co-stars slamming him. “Sixty years after some incident they are still on that track. Don’t you think that’s a little weird? It’s like a sickness. George has never stopped blackening my name. These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them. Why give credence to people consumed by envy and hate?”
While Shatner is no longer close with Takei, he said the “Star Trek” television series continues to endure due to the healthy friendships and stories at its center.
“Here is a group of people you get to love going on an adventure that, although unusual, harkens back to things that happen on Earth,” Shatner said. “The futurist stories we told were really human stories with a twist. People loved the stories, they loved the characters.”
Shatner said he does not watch “Star Trek” episodes regularly, but he does love to participate in fan events for the show. He added, “I enjoy the conventions when I am on stage fielding questions. I have acquired a way of doing this hour so that it becomes a kind of mutual distribution of information. The fans are interesting, it’s part of the reason why I go.”
“Boldly Go, Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder” is now available for purchase.
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