{"id":48856,"date":"2026-01-23T12:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=48856"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:09:18","slug":"star-trek-actors-defends-the-series-after-criticisms-of-going-woke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/01\/star-trek-actors-defends-the-series-after-criticisms-of-going-woke.html","title":{"rendered":"‘Star Trek’ Actors Defends the Series After Criticisms of Going ‘Woke’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Paramount+ \/ Youtube | Inset: Kathy Hutchins \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy <\/em>is out and it\u2019s dividing fans over what many are calling its \u201cwoke\u201d adherence to progressive ideology, including casting an array of LGBTQ+ characters, so-called \u201cgirl bosses,\u201d and bringing down the patriarchy. \u201cThis show is pure torture,\u201d wrote The Critical Drinker in a review of the show<\/a>. \u201cI mean, I expected it to be bad. Its made by Alex Kurtzman after all. But even I didn’t expect Star Trek: Starfleet Academy to be the laughable farce it turned out to be. Enjoy this review because I had to suffer a great deal to make it.\u201d While the show remains popular with critics, earning an 88% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>, it scores a 43% with regular viewers. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller slammed the show on X, calling for William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original series, to take over complete creative control of the franchise.<\/p>\n

Cast members of the show and past Star Trek <\/em>alums, however, have rushed to the show\u2019s defense. But rather than shirking off claims of the show\u2019s \u201cwokeness,\u201d they have embraced it. \u201cWoke is a good word. It’s been given negative connotations. But woke just means you’re awake and aware of everything that’s going on in the world around you,\u201d said actress<\/a> Gina Yashere, who plays Lura Thok on the show. She claimed Star Trek <\/em>has been \u201cwoke from day one.\u201d\u00a0 Robert Picardo, who plays \u201cDoctor\u201d on multiple iterations of the show, also upheld it<\/a> as being \u201cwoke.\u201d \u201cLong before the term existed, Star Trek’s heart was \u2018woke\u2019 & even though that word has been hijacked & made a cudgel to insult, to ridicule & – at the toxic extremes of social media – to justify prejudice & racism, Star Trek’s heart is strong & still beating for those listening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whoopi Goldberg, who played Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation, <\/em>also embraced the show for being woke. \u201cIf you\u2019ve never been asleep, you can\u2019t be woke, see? This was a show that was created with the idea that people from other planets would come, and we would all find a way to exist together,\u201d she said on \u201cThe View.\u201d \u201cThis was Gene\u2019s [Roddenberry] idea, this was his dream. And when you watch \u2018Star Trek,\u2019 that\u2019s what it shows you.\u201d Instances of the show encouraging social change, such as featuring the first televised interracial kiss<\/a> between Shatner and actress Nichelle Nichols have been cited of examples of the show being \u201cwoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Star Trek <\/em>fan, however, suggested it was a misunderstanding of the terms. \u201cStar Trek was not \u2018woke\u2019. It was progressive. It was forward-thinking. It was innovative. Imaginative. Rooted in science fiction and humanism. It put loyalty, friendship, sacrifice, duty and honor above the individual. It told us that there was a better future, but even in that future, we had much to learn. That the human experience never ends. It taught us that the best part of humanity is in all of us,\u201d wrote the user<\/a>. \u201cThe woke think they have everything figured out. They think that anyone who deviates even one iota from their fantasy society is to be extinguished and forgotten. They are the uneducated and the uninformed.\u201d He went on to list various episodes that dealt with difficult topics yet did so in ways where the message was \u201cused as a cudgel.\u201d \u201cWe haven’t changed. We’re still here, loving humanity, and missing the stories about our species. We’re waiting. We’re waiting for a return to science fiction, of good stories that put humanity to the test and give us the opportunity to ask questions without being judged.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is out and it\u2019s dividing fans over what many are calling its \u201cwoke\u201d adherence to progressive ideology, including casting an array of LGBTQ+ characters, so-called \u201cgirl bosses,\u201d and bringing down the patriarchy. \u201cThis show is pure torture,\u201d wrote The Critical Drinker in a review of the show. \u201cI mean,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":48859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\n'Star Trek' Actors Defends the Series After Criticisms of Going 'Woke'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Star Trek\u2019s new \u2018Starfleet Academy\u2019 divides fans over \u201cwoke\u201d themes as cast defends show.\" 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