William Shatner has been one of the primary players of the Star Trek franchise ever since its inception in 1966. However, throughout the years, the actor behind the iconic Captain Kirk has also been criticized by his co-stars for his behavior on the set and it's still being discussed even today by some of the surviving cast members.
In a recent interview with The Times of London, Shatner gets honest about his feelings on the criticisms that he received from his Star Trek colleagues throughout the years where he accused them of doing it for the sake of 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. I began to understand that they were doing it for publicity," he said.
The Emmy winner went on to call them "bitter and embittered" for their actions, particularly George Takei who is known to be the most vocal among the people who have criticized him in the past.
"George [Takei] has never stopped blackening my name," Shatner continued. "These people are bitter and embittered. I have run out of patience with them. Why give credence to people consumed by envy and hate?"
After noticing that his quote became trending on Twitter, the actor doubled down on his comments in a tweet and pointed out that a lot of his co-stars in the other shows that he worked on didn't publicly criticize him and the attacks might be from the people who only worked as day players on the sets.
"I do find it sad that a handful of day players who were on set for maybe 20-30 days a year total spent 50+ years creating fantasies to get noticed in the press. Why did actors in other shows I was in not have the same issues?," he wrote. "I stupidly allowed them to do it I guess. No more!"
It is always unfortunate when situations like this happen to the actors that we love and admire and, in the case of Shatner and his former colleagues, it also looks like it won't be resolved anytime soon.
Also Read: Star Trek Head Teases Janeway's Return: “There Are Many More Surprises in Store”
Shatner's latest memoir Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder (co-written with Joshua Brandon) is now on sale.
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