It was only a month ago when George Takei vowed to never talk about William Shatner again.
But, in a recent interview with Mirror, George Takei is right back to taking swipes at William Shatner, and this time, it’s to compare the amount of time he spent in zero gravity as opposed to Shatner. When Shatner’s space flight in October 2021 was brought up, Takei had something critical to say.
"“Well, he wasn’t really in outer space and it wasn’t for very long. I’ve also been in zero gravity but I did it for longer. I took a parabolic flight and experienced five minutes of weightlessness, whereas William only experienced three minutes. So I’ve spent more time in zero gravity than him.”"
When the subject arose, that was the perfect time for Takei to simply say “this isn’t a topic I care to discuss.” And move on. Instead, he took another jab.
When asked what was behind the decades of animosity, Takei denied there being any animosity. Instead, he said he was blessed by wonderful and lifelong friends he made through Star Trek. Then he took yet another dig at Shatner.
"“Oh, there’s no animosity. In Star Trek I was blessed by wonderful and lifelong friends, and we all enjoyed each other’s company… except for the prima donna.”"
Perhaps Takei needs some clarification on the meaning of animosity.
George Takei was asked whether he would be willing to meet up with William Shatner to work things out.
Takei’s response is a deliberate avoidance of the question.
"“We meet up all the time. We do Star Trek conventions. We cross paths and I say, ‘Hi Bill’ and he says, ‘Hi George’, and we keep on walking.”"
And that makes us curious as to why he wouldn’t be willing to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with Shatner. Is this something that could be worked out, or should it just be let go after all this time? Apparently, though, letting go isn’t going to be easy for Takei as he further clarified.
"“Let’s just say he’s not the easiest guy to work with and I wouldn’t leap at another opportunity. That’s a universal feeling, although the others have a better sense of restraint and discretion. I believe in being honest and forthright.”"
So perhaps in his vow to never talk about Shatner again, he meant unless he felt like it. So far, there’s been no response from Shatner. Let’s hope it stays that way, and Shatner just lets Takei take the potshots he feels he needs to take for whatever reason.