William Shatner attended the Star Trek Las Vegas convention and told LGBTQ+ fans to "keep on queerin'." Dawn Ennis queued with hundreds to meet the actor, who affirmed support for the community. Ursa Wright of the Lambda Quadrant said many fans historically did not feel safe expressing their full selves at conventions, describing a table with big rainbows where attendees confided they avoided overt queer expression. Queer fans described Star Trek as representing "being free," "acceptance," and "tolerance." The franchise previously featured George Takei as Lieutenant Sulu. In 2021 Shatner criticized people who claimed Captain Kirk is bisexual, calling them "moronic people."
The 94-year-old, who is best known for playing Captain James T Kirk in the 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'!"
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?"
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