William Shatner is responding to fans who are celebrating Starfleet Academy's cancellation by referencing one of Star Trek's most famous scenes. By doing this, he is reminding fans that the franchise's history has always been about opposing prejudice rather than accommodating it.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), William Shatner quote‑tweeted discourse around Starfleet Academy’s cancellation by pointing back to the infamous kiss between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura in The Original Series episode, “Plato’s Stepchildren.” He wrote:
"During the first airing of my Star Trek series where a kiss was objectionable; many southern stations pulled the episode & condemned the show. Using today’s vernacular it would absolutely be called 'woke DEI crap' because it went against 'norms' of society for its time. Not a lot seems to have changed." (Continued on page 2...)
During the first airing of my Star Trek series where a kiss was objectionable; many southern stations pulled the episode & condemned the show. Using today’s vernacular it would absolutely be called“woke DEI crap”because it went against “norms” of society for its time. Not a lot…
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 24, 2026