George Takei Brands William Shatner a ‘Prima Donna’ in New Interview

Isaac Rouse November 28, 2022, 2:54 pm

William Shatner George Takei-1 — Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Foundation for the AIDS Monument

Star Trek‘s George Takei and William Shatner have been feuding for years, and it appears nothing has changed between them judging by a new interview Takei did with The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. The Sulu actor, who starred in the 60s series alongside Shatner’s Kirk, said there was a healthy camaraderie on set among cast members “except for one, who was a prima donna.”

It seems the actor was referencing Shatner, who he addressed directly later on when asked if the cast got along with him. “No, none of us,” Takei responded. Earlier this month, Shatner spoke against his Star Trek co-stars publicly going against 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?”

In his interview with The Guardian, Takei says of Shatner, “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.” He continues, “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.”

Previously in 2021, Takei mocked Shatner’s space trip 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!”