Star Trek's William Shatner is taking a stand against toxic Star Wars fans.
The legendary actor, best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series, took to Twitter to repost Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor's video where he defended his co-star Moses Ingram from racist attacks on social media. Shatner replied with one single message for those toxic fans: "Toxicity in fandoms needs to go…NOW!"
Since Obi-Wan Kenobi began, Ingram, who plays Reva Sevander/the Third Sister in the Disney+ series, has been the target of racist harassment, an unfortunate circumstance Lucasfilm had previously warned her about. Some of those messages were posted by Ingram on her Instagram stories. "There's nothing anybody can do about this," Ingram said. "There's nothing anybody can do to stop this hate. I question my purpose in even being here in front of you, saying that this is happening. I don't really know."
Shatner is not the only Star Trek star coming to Ingram's defense against the toxic fans. Anson Mount -- who plays Captain Christopher Pike on Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds -- took to his Instagram page to offer his support. "This is Moses Ingram," said Mount. "She is a singular talent and a recent addition to the Star Wars universe. She has also been targeted by racists pretending to be fans because her mere existence threatens a skewed, dystopian fantasy that selectively omits the likes of Billy Dee Williams and others. We, the Trek Family, have her back.
Like McGregor, the Star Wars Twitter channel issued a full-throated statement to defend Ingram and condone all racist Star Wars fans. "We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva's story to unfold," they said. "If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist."
While many Star Wars fans have openly expressed support for the Obi-Wan Kenobi star, others have called out Disney for defending Ingram after previously firing Gina Carano from The Mandalorian. Carano -- who played Cara Dune in Seasons 1 and 2 of the Star Wars Disney+ series -- was let go in 2020 after posting right-wing messages and conspiracies on her social media pages. Despite allegedly receiving similar threats from fans, Disney did not publish a statement regarding the harassment. The Mandalorian co-star Bill Burr came to Carano's defense, calling out Lucasfilm for making what he felt was a politically-motivated decision.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney+ with new episodes airing every Wednesday.
Source: Twitter
