William Shatner Called Out By Star Trek Actor For Slamming New Shows
William Shatner is known for being very public with his open, which means that other Star Trek actors can be pretty open themselves.
William Shatner has no more cares to give. Last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, the 91-year-old actor appeared at a panel hosted by Kevin Smith to answer fan questions and talk a bit about the documentary currently in the process about his own life. Never one to back down from sharing exactly what’s on his mind, when Shatner was asked if there were any new tellings in the Star Trek universe that could go up against his own, the actor seemed to laugh at the thought and brush it off quickly with a short “none of them” response. He even went as far as to say that the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, would be “turning in his grave” at several of the spinoffs the universe has had.
While it’s funny to hear a 91-year-old curse and carry on, talking smack on other productions and how they could never compare to the one he starred in decades ago, those who have worked tirelessly on these new critically acclaimed offshoots are not so entertained. Heading to Twitter to voice her disgust for the iconic actor’s comments, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Melissa Navia slammed William Shatner for most likely not even tuning in for the shows that he claims so much disdain for. Which is something that’s incredibly probable judging by just how much extra content Roddenberry’s original production jump-started.
As she challenged the original Captain James T. Kirk for his statements surrounding the current Star Trek programming schedule, Navia also pondered over whether William Shatner tuned in to all of the Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, or if he doesn’t even fully watch his own work. Things heated up in the comment section where Navia said that unless he reached out to her directly, she was assuming that Shatner hadn’t seen a second of any of the other material. When one follower told the actress to be careful with her words as Shatner has a quick trigger finger when it comes to blocking, Navia said that if she were to be blocked, then her question would be answered. Shots fired!
Hefty opinions about the Star Trek universe aside, William Shatner made even more waves during his Comic-Con panel by making snarky remarks to one fan who was wearing a face mask. During the Q&A portion, a fan approached the mic donning a face mask – something that was very much pushed for pandemic-based reasons at this year’s massive gathering. To give some perspective – this year was the convention’s big comeback after having the doors shuttered due to the ongoing threat and spread of COVID-19 over the past few years, so the fan was just meeting the event’s requirements. But, when he tossed his question out there, the actor cut him down by saying that he both “didn’t understand what he’s talking about” and didn’t “understand who he’s talking to,” while telling the fan to take the mask off.
Somehow, it sounds like Kevin Smith was able to reel ol’ Shatner in and make the panel a successful, if not incredibly talked about event. As for William Shatner’s comments towards the newest pieces of Star Trek canon, no matter what his beliefs are, there’s always going to be money in the juggernaut franchise, so it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
