Four SFA actors will receive the highly coveted Ensemble Award and deservedly so.
The 3rd annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television will honor Star Trek: Starfleet Academy actors with the highly coveted Ensemble Award this summer. SFA’s Gina Yashere, Tig Notaro, Karim Diane, and Kerrice Brooks were all chosen because of their exemplary work, and the release reads as follows via the Critics Choice Association:
“Academy Award & Emmy-nominated actor Tig Notaro and actors Karim Diane, Gina Yashere, and Kerrice Brooks will be honored with the Ensemble Award for their roles in Paramount+’s Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. The series has been lauded for its dynamic romantic storylines exploring queer love—including Diane’s character, Jay-Den Kraag, the franchise’s first gay Klingon, and Notaro’s [Jett Reno] and Yashere’s [Lura Thok] workplace romance—garnering acclaim from LGBTQ+ fans.”
Diane responded to the Ensemble Award announcement on his Instagram (below) by writing, "Critics Choice is honoring me and the gay girlies of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy… oh we’re taking it 💅🏾🖖🏾"
Diane and Yashere portray two of Starfleet Academy’s most controversial characters. Haters and so-called fans of Star Trek continuously complain online that there isn’t any place for a gay Klingon (Jay-Den Kraag) or a female Jem’Hadar (Lura Thok) in the franchise, which couldn't be further from what creator Gene Roddenberry envisioned almost 60 years ago: a universe where EVERYONE is welcome.
These close-minded individuals obviously aren’t interested in the Star Trek universe’s theme of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (IDIC). So, it’s wonderful to see all four of these wonderful actors being honored for their talents and the parts they play on the streaming series — despite so much negativity wrongly being posted online by a toxic segment of the fandom.
The 3rd annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television is scheduled for Friday, May 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. Now, share your thoughts and comments with us on Diane, Yashere, Brooks, and Notaro winning the Ensemble Award via the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!