Openly gay actor Wilson Cruz has taken to Twitter to voice his frustration with a homophobic Star Trek fan that harassed him during a recent appearance.
Cruz, who plays the gay doctor Hugh Culber on Star Trek: Discovery, shared his experience on Twitter this week. The actor revealed that the incident occurred during his appearance for Star Trek Day on September 8.
I wonder if this was the moment on stage when I heard a “fan” on Star Trek Day refer to me with a homophobic slur… ? Still smiling, though. You’ll never kill my joy. pic.twitter.com/stdzmk0UqE
— Wilson Cruz (@wcruz73) September 10, 2021
“I wonder if this was the moment on stage when I heard a ‘fan’ on Star Trek Day refer to me with a homophobic slur,” Cruz wrote, captioning an image of himself smiling on stage. “Still smiling, though. You’ll never kill my joy.”
For the record, a source close to us that also attended the Star Trek Day festivities also told us he endured homophobic slurs at the event.
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The tweet sent Trek fans rushing to defend Cruz and slam event organizers for not doing more to curb the hate. Cruz then returned to Twitter to defend the event and calm his fans.
I REALLY didn’t mean for this to blow up. It just means we have work to do. Let’s do it and move beyond this trivial moment. They’ve received enough attention, as it is. I’m grateful for ALL of your care. I forget sometimes how much this fandom can go to bat when it wants!????
— Wilson Cruz (@wcruz73) September 10, 2021
“Listen, y’all… I really don’t blame the event. I only heard it,” Cruz wrote.” Couldn’t point them out, so chose to ignore it. I DON’T blame the EVENT at all! That day wasn’t about them and it wasn’t about me. It was about Star Trek, it’s legacy, it’s ideals, it’s visionary creator…”
“I REALLY didn’t mean for this to blow up,” he continued. “It just means we have work to do. Let’s do it and move beyond this trivial moment. They’ve received enough attention, as it is. I’m grateful for ALL of your care. I forget sometimes how much this fandom can go to bat when it wants!”
Star Trek: Discovery has won wide praise for including the first explicit LGBTQ characters in the history of the long-running franchise. Alongside Cruz, actor Anthony Rapp plays Hugh Culber’s boyfriend Paul Stamets, while actor Blu Del Barrio portrays the couple’s adoptive trans/nonbinary teen, Adria. Trans actor Ian Alexander also has a recurring role as Adria’s former love, Gray Tal.
Bengali
How far we’ve come with much work to do. Still, progress has and is being made. Never give up the fight.
Hillers
A homophobic dork. Who knew!
Cody
Star Trek is built on differences and coming together despite them, so anyone homophobic is NOT a REAL Star Trek fan.
truetrekki
ABSOLUTELY! REMEMBER THE EPISODE IN THE ORIGINAL SERIES WHERE THE ENTERPRISE INVESTIGATED A PLANET WITH ONLY 2 LIFE FORMS LEFT? ONE FROM EACH CIVILIZATION WHICH HAD ANNIHILATED EACH OTHER BECAUSE OF THEIR SKIN COLOR (ONE CIVILIZATION HAD BLACK SKIN ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND WHITE SKIN ON THE LEFT SIDE – THE OTHER CIVILIZATION HAD REVERSED SKIN COLOR SO EACH THOUGHT THE OTHER WAS INFERIOR
redzebra1
Waiting for a racist fan comment too! We saw what might be the motivation behind the criticism of the main character too, after demoting (which Admiral Kirk got for the same reason!).
Kangol2
A classy man, Cruz, responding to a classic, homophobic creep, but they’re everywhere, including in 21st century America.
Openminded
Totally agree. He couldn’t have responded any better, both on the day it happened and in his replies on social media.
Al Peaston
Tig Notaro is a LGBTQ character on Discovery too and actually one of my personal favorites!
Vince
Yeah, me too.
Jim Reeves
A couple of quibbles:
Culber and Stamets are not boyfriends, they’re a married couple.
Adria is not adopted in any legal sense, they’re chosen family.
Wilson Cruz is always a class act, and this incident is just further proof.
WSnyder
IDIC
If you don’t know what that is or if you don’t know what it means, then you’re not a true Star Trek Fan. At it’s core, Star Trek has been a vehicle to explore the human condition in an entertaining way. It’s no secret that many episodes [across all the series] have a story that explores different aspects of humanity. While this not always the case, as some episodes are just pure entertainment, there are still many great episodes that takes the viewer on a journey about love, hate, life, death, tyranny, freedom, belief, justice, conflict, honor, revenge, and many other human characteristics. Even when some of the episode’s characters are not even human. That’s when it’s really entertaining because viewers don’t even realize the show is putting them outside the mirror and making them look in.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
Wilson, I think a more appropriate respond (or lets just say this is how I would have responded) would have been to pull out your cell phone and ask “I’m sorry, I missed it. Please repeat to me again how much YOU are making per year.” Trust me, that would have caused whomever it was to start crying. People tend to be jealous of success and I’ll bet your being gay is NOT the root of that person’s frustration.
RickHeathen
There are people in this world who simply cannot choose to be kind. I really wish they would.