A Star Trek icon is standing up for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’s controversial Klingon, and it’s wonderful to see! There’s been some controversy in the Star Trek fandom regarding Starfleet Academy’s cadet Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diane). It was one thing for a Klingon to be shown wanting to be a doctor rather than a warrior, but the controversy only increased with the confirmation that Jay-Den is gay and dating the War College's cadet Kyle (Dale Whibley).
That sadly led to a huge backlash among fans, with Diane himself speaking about it. It's always troubling when an actor is wrongly raked over the coals by a portion of fandom, but Diane now has backing from someone who knows what he’s going through: George Takei.
In a lengthy Instagram post (view on next page), Diane shared e-mails he’d gotten from Takei’s husband, Brad, which shared how much it meant to the Star Trek icon seeing an actor and character represented on screen like this.
The first e-mail opened with Brad relating George's story on how he had to keep closeted for most of his career, as being openly gay in 20th-century Hollywood was a death sentence for acting. It took until 2005, at the age of 68, for Takei to finally come out publicly. Brad wrote in the email:
“That's why seeing you step into a queer role — especially in Star Trek, a franchise George holds so dear — is to meaningful so us. He spoke with Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s about LGBTQ+ representation, but the risks were too high. When Star Trek featured the groundbreaking Kirk-Uhura interracial kiss, it led to blacklisting in several Southern states."
Brad continued by writing:
"Roddenberry feared that tackling same-sex love themes might result in outright cancellation. How extraordinary that we have now arrived at a moment where characters like yours exist in Star Trek Starfleet Academy — something George has always hoped for. We'd love to stay in touch. It truly feels like the stars aligned for us to meet. Wishing you all the best as you bring this important story to life.”
This clearly means a lot coming from George Takei, a man who has wrestled with discrimination all his life. It wasn’t just his sexuality but also his race as he grew up in an internment camp during World War II. This is a man who has long fought to be taken seriously as an actor and a person, and an advocate for various causes. In short, if anyone has the right to discuss how it feels to be part of a marginalized group, it’s Takei.