It appears George Takei is reigniting his feud with William Shatner this week. After Shatner flew into space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin capsule, Takei didn’t speak too highly about his former on-screen caption. So let’s see what’s going on with Takei and Shatner this time.
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Wait…George Takei Called William Shatner What??
When asked what he thought about his former Star Trek co-star’s recent excursion into outer space, Takei had anything but kind comments to say. “He’s boldly going where other people have gone before,” Takei snarked to reporters.
Takei’s insults were just getting started, though, as he referenced Shatner as a 90-year-old “guinea pig.” Then Takei took shots at Shatner’s age as well as his physique as a whole.Â
“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,” Takei remarked. “Although he’s not the fittest specimen of 90 years old, so he’ll be a specimen that’s unfit!” the Star Trek actor added.
On Wednesday, Shatner flew on the Blue Origin capsule and reportedly experienced a few moments of weightlessness aboard the spacecraft. After the craft landed, Shatner gave a lengthy, hard-to-understand monologue about his experience.
Overall, Shatner said the flight “was so moving. This experience, it’s something unbelievable.” Despite how amazing the event was, it’s clear Takei wasn’t impressed by what Shatner had to say.Â
The History Between William Shatner And George Takei
There have been several examples of Shatner and Takei feuding and not getting along in the past. One of the earliest conflicts the two actors had was in 1983 after a small fire on the set of Star Trek. After the fire started, Shatner recalled he “ran in with a garden hose, and I started to hose the fire down,” before the fire department arrived at the scene.
However, that wasn’t the way Takei remembered the events. Instead, Takei said Shatner using the garden hose was simply a publicity stunt, not a genuine attempt to help.Â
Again in 1993, Shatner and Takei brought their rocky history to the surface. In Shatner’s memoir, Star Trek Memories, he painted Takei in a not-so-favorable light, calling him a “loose cannon.” According to Shatner, as they filmed a sword-fighting scene for Star Trek, Takei injured him.
“I really do think that some small part of [Takei] was upset that he didn’t get to run me through,” Shatner wrote. Takei did admit he got into a little bit of trouble during the sword-fighting scene. However, Takei recalled his actions only bothered actor James Doohan and an assistant director, not Shatner. Seems like this feud just took its phasers off stun.