OUTscene Contributor
Once only a lieutenant on the fabled Starship Enterprise, George Takei has become a captain in pop culture and the most visible alum of that 1960s sci-fi television show, “Star Trek.”
Takei appeared Saturday at Emerald City Comicon. Some of Takei’s young fans have never seen an episode of “Star Trek” or the six subsequent motion pictures based on it. But they’ve gotten to know the 74-year-old Takei as he continues to act, works as an activist and, until recently, was a contestant on Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice,” and has become a titan of social media.
Takei has 1.3 million followers on Facebook where he posts humorous captioned photos and the occasional shout out to his two favorite issues: the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) equality.
In the 2000s, the actor came out as gay, married his partner, and got in a very public dust-up with fellow “Star Trek” actor William Shatner.
“Isn’t that amazing?” Takei exclaims when reminded of his legions of Facebook fans. “It’s a matter of knowing who your audience base is.”
The actor cites his “Star Trek” history as a major hook for his popularity but also mentions his social causes. “I found that humor can be a powerful way to reach people on serious issues.”
Fans supply Takei and his husband, Brad Altman, with most of the material they post, but lately he’s become a victim of his own popularity.
“It’s getting to the point where it’s a tsunami,” he says of his Facebook popularity. “I’ve got a life to live as well. Brad has been helping me, but now we’ve had to take on an intern.”
Until a few weeks ago, Takei was a contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice.” In the season opener, fellow contestant Paul Teutul Sr. (“Orange County Choppers”) called him “meek.” It didn’t sit well with Takei.
“I think it more describes Paul than it describes me. He struggled for that word. I don’t think he has a command of the English language. I am the farthest thing from that as I have more than proved,” Takei says.
On the show’s second episode, Takei was the project manager for a window display the men had to create. Trump, dissatisfied with the results, fired Takei.
“I guess I joined the legion of people that have been fired by Donald Trump,” Takei says. “I still maintain that we had the more classier, the more elegant, the more sophisticated window. The women’s team window had everything but the kitchen sink. I thought ours was Fifth Avenue. Theirs was 34th Street. Sell, sell, sell.”
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