Star Trek’s William Shatner, 94, shares message of support for LGBTQ+ fans

Star Trek actor William Shatner has shared a message of support for LGBTQ+ fans. 

The 94-year-old, who is best known for playing Captain James T Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, attended the annual Star Trek Las Vegas convention earlier this month where urged his LGBTQ+ fans to “keep on queerin'”.

Speaking to reporter Dawn Ennis, who had queued alongside hundreds of attendees to meet the actor, Shatner made it clear that he is a supporter of the community. 

“What message do you have for queer Trek fans?,” Ennis asked, to which Shatner responded: “Keep on queerin’!”

As reported by Los Angeles Blade, Ursa Wright of the Lambda Quadrant, a group dedicated to promoting queer representation in fandom, said of LGBTQ+ representation among Star Trek fans: “Many, many people come up to us at the table and say that historically they have not felt comfortable expressing their full and true selves, even here in the fandom. 

“We are the one table in the whole place with big rainbows everywhere. So, people, for a long time, they come up and they tell us they did not actually feel safe.

“Like, they can wear their Star Trek outfit, but nothing overtly expresses that they would be gay, or whatever it is, because they still didn’t feel comfortable, because no one else was in the space doing the thing. Which, in our year of the Lord, how are we still there, where people feel that?”

‘Being free’

Elsewhere at the convention, queer fans opened up to Washington Blade about what Star Trek means to them. 

Rachel from Nebraska said the series meant “being free,” while couple and fans Anthony and Ryan said it meant “acceptance” and “tolerance”.

Star Trek featured gay actor George Takei in role as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, starring opposite Shatner.

In 2021, Shatner hit out at “moronic people” who believed that his Star Trek character Captain Kirk is bisexual.

“If Kirk were bisexual Star Trek would have never have happened. It would not have influenced Star Wars and it would be a blip in the history of the Roddenberry family,” he said.

“How is it you don’t understand the social constructs of the sixties? Why did Stonewall happen in ’69 if all was OK?

“I am so tired of presentism and moronic people who continue to place today’s value systems on the past to judge. They cannot comprehend that the fact they have the freedom to judge is because of what brave people did in the past. Education needs a wake up call.”

The year before, he sparred with LGBTQ+ X users over the term cisgender, often shortened to cis.

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