Oh my! George Takei is firing back at William Shatner after the latter made comments that his former Star Trek co-stars were filled with “envy and hatred.”
“He’s just a cantankerous old man and I’m going to leave him to his devices. I’m not going to play his game.” Although, Takei did admit falling into Shatner’s trap. “I have much more substantial subject matter that I want to get publicity for, so I’m not going to refer to Bill in this interview at all.”
While Takei and Shatner do have a historically tumultuous relationship, earlier this year, Shatner took shots at many of his Enterprise shipmates. “I began to understand that they were [making comments about me] for publicity… 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. These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them. Why give credence to people consumed by envy and hate?” On Takei in particular, Shatner said, “George has never stopped blackening my name,” a statement that more recently stemmed from Takei mocking Shanter’s trip to space.
Unlike Shatner, George Takei seems to have more fond memories of his Star Trek co-stars, saying he got along with everyone “except for one, who was a prima donna. But the rest of us shared a great camaraderie.”
George Takei, now 85, is set to star in a new production of Allegiance, inspired by his actual experiences in an internment camp during World War II. Takei also recently voiced a main character on the Marvel animated series Hit-Monkey.
What do you think? Whose side do you take in the beef between George Takei and William Shatner? Does one have a stronger point than the other? Let us know below!