George Takei Labels ‘Star Trek’ Co-Star William Shatner ‘A Cantankerous Old Man’

The resentment between Star Trek co-stars George Takei and William Shatner seems to be one of the longest-running and most bitter showbiz feuds of the century, as both men have refused to bury the hatchet over their almost 50-year battle.

Things took a wild turn recently when George responded to a statement made by Shatner to The Times, alluding that he “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?”

George Takei comments on the feud

The two actors have openly admitted to having misunderstandings on the set of Star Trek, but George claims that the feud between them does not exist.

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“It’s not tension; it’s all coming from Bill; whenever he needs a little publicity for a project, he pumps up the so-called controversy between us.” George disclosed this to The New York Times Magazine in 2015. “It’s difficult working with someone who is not a team player. The rest of the cast all understand what makes a scene work — it’s everybody contributing to it. But Bill is a wonderful actor, and he knows it, and he likes to have the camera on him all the time.”

George Takei lambasts William Shatner

Reacting to Shatner’s outburst to The Times, he revealed, “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. 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,” the 85-year-old explained further. “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.”

This is not the first time George is lashing out at his former on-screen captain. He had enough to say about the Shatner’s recent trip to space on billionaire Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket. “He’s boldly going where other people have gone before. He’s a guinea pig, 90 years old, and it’s important to find out what happens,” Takei said at the opening of Thoughts of a Colored Man on Wednesday night.

George Takei and William Shatner enjoyed a moment of bliss

Despite their feud, the two men shared a platform on a lighter mode in 2006 at Comedy Central’s roast of Shatner.

After making some jokes about Shatner, Takei concluded, “Despite our tensions, I’m honored that you invited me to be here with you tonight. I can finally say what I have waited 40 years to say: (Expletive) you and the horse you rode in on.”