George Takei Calls William Shatner a ‘Cantankerous Old Man,’ Says ‘None’ of the ’Star Trek‘ Cast Got Along With Him
George Takei had nothing nice to say about former “Star Trek” co-star William Shatner in a new interview with The Guardian. Takei, who starred as Sulu opposite Shatner’s Captain Kirk during their “Star Trek” tenure, said there was a healthy camaraderie on set among his cast members “except for one, who was a prima donna.” The actor appeared to be alluding to Shatner, who he later addressed more directly when he was asked if any of the cast got along with Shatner. Takei responded, “No, none of us.”
Shatner made headlines earlier this month due to an interview with The Times UK in which he spoke out against his “Star Trek” co-stars publicly slamming him. “I began to understand that they were doing it for publicity,” Shatner said. “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?”
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“I know he came to London to promote his book and talked about me wanting publicity by using his name. So I decided I don’t need his name to get publicity,” Takei responded in his new Guardian interview. “I have much more substantial subject matter that I want to get publicity for, so I’m not going to refer to [Shatner] in this interview at all. Although I just did. 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.”
Back in 2021, Takei publicly mocked Shatner’s space flight on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. “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!”
Takei is currently making the press rounds in the United Kingdom ahead of his musical, “Allegiance,” launching its British production.
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