'He's a cantankerous old man': George Takei reignites feud with 'Star Trek' co-star William Shatner
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: George Takei has reignited his long-standing feud with former ‘Star Trek’ co-star William Shatner by calling him a 'cantankerous old man' in a new interview after the latter publicly criticized him alleging that he used his name for publicity.
The 85-year-old actor, who portrayed Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on ‘Star Trek', told The Guardian on Monday, November 28, that the entire ‘Star Trek’ cast “shared a great camaraderie,” all “except for one” person, whom he described as a “prima donna.” He reportedly said that none of the cast members got along with Shatner, who “enjoyed being the center of attention.” Takei then went on to address the allegations made by Shatner during his book promotion.
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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 said, adding, "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."
He added, "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." Takei recalled that Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, was "self-involved" when they were costars on NBC sci-fi series from 1966 to 1969.
Takei’s comments came after Shatner told The Times stated that he felt his co-stars slammed him to make headlines for themselves. "I began to understand that they were doing it 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," he reportedly said.
"These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them. Why give credence to people consumed by envy and hate?" he added.
Back in 2021, Takei mocked Shatner after he became the oldest person to travel to space with Jeff Bezos's aerospace company Blue Origin. "He's boldly going where other people have gone before," Takei said as per People. "He's a guinea pig, 90 years old and it's important to find out what happens. So 90 years old is going to show a great deal more on the wear and tear on the human body, so he'll be a good specimen to study. Although he's not the fittest specimen of 90 years old, so he'll be a specimen that's unfit!" he reportedly said.
However, earlier this year, it was reported that Shatner was keen to mend his ties with Takei. "Bill has been reaching out to try and mend fences," an insider close to Shatner told Radar Online. "He doesn't want the bad blood anymore, and the word is George is open to it. Bill's the first to admit he's been stubborn, big-headed, and ego-driven. It's taken years, but Bill's come a long way — and better late than never," the insider continued, adding that Shatner "seems to be getting a little lonely," and that "everyone would like to see Bill and George be on friendly terms."