George Takei, best known for his role as Sulu in the "Star Trek" franchise, had enough of a debate over "Star Trek: Discovery," the new series set to debut on CBS All Access. He's speaking up against issues on racism and sexism that some fans have been throwing against the show following the release of a new teaser that offered a first glimpse of the characters.
The video showed the Discovery ship's top-ranking officers as female from different races. Capt. Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) is Asian and first officer Lt. Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is African-American. Some fans decried the parts were wrongly cast and the show lacked a good number of male and Caucasian characters.
Learning of the fan outrage, Takei told MSNBC's "AM Joy" that the criticisms were uncalled for. He said those who opposed the actors chosen to play a diversified group of characters missed out the point of what "Star Trek is about.
"They don't know the history of Star Trek," Takei said. "[Star Trek creator] Gene Roddenberry created this with the idea of finding strength in our diversity ― and also the delight of life in diversity." Watch the actor shoot down critics in the video below.
Apart from Yeoh and Martin-Green, "Star Trek: Discovery" also features Rekha Sharma, a Canadian actress with Indian roots as Commander Landry. Broadway actor Anthony Rapp plays Lt. Stamets and while he's Caucasian, his character is the first openly gay show regular in the franchise.
Other actors joining "Star Trek: Discovery" include Jason Isaacs (Captain Lorca), Terry Serpico (Admiral Anderson), Doug Jones (Lt. Saru), James Frain (Sarek of Vulcan), Sam Vartholomeos (Lt. Connor), Maulik Pancholy (Dr. Nambue), Shazad Latif (Lt. Tyler), Chris Orbi (T'Kuvma), Kenneth Mitchell (Kol), Mary Wiseman (Tilly) and Rainn Wilson (Harry Mudd).
CBS has not yet announced the show's premiere date but "Star Trek: Discovery" season 1 is set for a 15-episode run on the network's streaming access. The show will also be available on Netflix.
