Was Icheb killed because of its original actor's online controversy?

To say fans weren't happy with Icheb's death on Star Trek: Picard is an understatement. Not only were they unhappy with the character's death but also the brutal way in which he died. And the brief role on Picard wasn't played by the original actor; he'd instead been replaced by Casey King. Though we can't absolutely be sure this is why Icheb was replaced and/or killed, Giant Freakin' Robot posted that some fans theorized it happened beause of Manu Intiraymi's, who portrayed Icheb on Star Trek: Voyager, online posts and comments which angered Star Trek fans.

In one instance, Intiraymi made a statement that any Latinos who supported former President Donald Trump were “the epitome of stupidity.” He admitted engaging in systemic racism himself, but perhaps the death knell for any potential future on Star Trek came when he responded to Star Trek: Discovery's Anthony Rapp who accused Kevin Spacey of sexually assaulting him when he was a teenager. Intiraymi speculated that "not much of anything really happened," adding that what happened to Rapp "isn't assault...This is just life." He went on to claim that he would have had sex with Spacey if he'd been hit on at fourteen.

In a post to Twitter/X yesterday, which he pinned to the top of his profile, Intiraymi acknowledged that Giant Freakin' Robot's article was "kind of" true. He added that he thought Star Trek stood for empathy.

For the most part, Intiraymi's post was met with support from his 76,000+ followers, with several fans claiming that he had been robbed and/or they couldn't understand why he was treated this way. Paramount was called "vindictive," and one follower said it sounded like Icheb was killed off because of politics. Only one commenter on the post suggested that he take accountability for things he had said. If those things he said were responsible for Icheb's death, we'll never really know.

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