Latest news with #GeorgeTakei
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Takei believes our democracy will be OK — once the 'Klingon president' is out of office
Before George Takei broke out with his role on 'Star Trek' and became a cultural icon, his last name was often mispronounced. Instead of 'tuh-kay,' some people would say 'tuck-eye.' 'I told them that's a mispronunciation, but I don't object to it because the word takai in Japanese means 'expensive,'' the actor and advocate says during a recent Zoom call from Boston. 'In fact, I told this to ['Star Trek' creator] Gene Roddenberry when he was interviewing me and he said, 'Oh my goodness, a producer doesn't like to call an actor expensive. Takei is OK.'' Having to educate people about his name is one of the reasons he included it in the playful title of his latest graphic memoir, 'It Rhymes With Takei.' 'I didn't want it to be in their face,' says Takei. 'I thought I'd use [my name] in the title and make the reader work a little bit … Takai? Takei? May, day, pay, say, gay. Oh, gay!' Read more: George Takei on his childhood in internment camps — and his faith in the future Out Tuesday, 'It Rhymes With Takei' is about the actor's experiences growing up gay at a time when it was much less safe — and thus less common — to be out. The book details Takei's story from his earliest childhood crushes to being compelled to come out in 2005 and becoming the outspoken LGBTQ+ rights activist he is today. For 'It Rhymes With Takei,' the author once again teamed up with writers Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger and artist Harmony Becker, his collaborators for 'They Called Us Enemy,' the 2019 graphic memoir about Takei's childhood imprisonment in incarceration camps during World War II. Takei is no stranger to sharing personal stories. In addition to his books, he has been the subject of a documentary. There is a musical loosely inspired by his time in wartime incarceration camps. In the last 20 years, he's also discussed his experiences as a gay man, especially as it relates to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, but "It Rhymes With Takei" is his first deep dive into his full story. Born in Boyle Heights, Takei was just 5 when he and his family were forced out of their Los Angeles home as part of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during the war. Because he was unjustly persecuted for his identity and perceived as 'different,' when he realized he was different in another way, he kept it close to his chest. 'I grew up behind very real barbed wire fences, but I created my own invisible barbed wire fence … and lived most of my adult life closeted,' says Takei, 88, who came out when he was 68. 'My most personal issue had me imprisoned. … It was a different society that I grew up in. Being closeted was the way to survive if you're LGBTQ.' 'But at the same time as I remained closeted, society was starting to change,' Takei continues. 'It was changing because some LGBTQ people were brave enough [and] determined enough to come out and be active and vocal and engaged.' Since coming out in 2005, Takei has been vocal about issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, wielding his quick wit and gentlemanly poise — as well as his massive platform — to denounce discrimination, blast homophobic public figures and call out other injustices. Read more: George Takei's 'They Called Us Enemy' shows injustice through a child's eyes In 2011, for instance, Takei offered his name to be used as an alternative to the word 'gay' when Tennessee lawmakers were moving to prohibit teachers from any discussion of sexual orientation in the classroom. He continued to speak out against the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill when more states were pushing versions through their legislatures during a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in 2022. As Takei shares stories about his family moving to Skid Row after being released from the wartime incarceration camps, getting introduced to radio and comic books as he adjusted to his new life and the aspirational ideals upheld by 'Star Trek,' he occasionally glances offscreen to banter with his husband, Brad, who is out of frame but close enough to interject if he chooses. They're the sort of comfortable exchanges that come naturally between longtime couples. But for most of his life, Takei believed that he could not be out if he wanted to pursue an acting career. He'd seen firsthand how rumors or getting outed affected the careers of others. And Takei admits that he felt guilty watching fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community as they fought for their rights while he remained silent. When then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a marriage equality bill passed by California's legislature in 2005, Takei knew he could no longer remain on the sidelines. 'I was so raging with anger,' says Takei, who did not reference Schwarzenegger by name. 'We were getting so close [to marriage equality] and I was really elated. But we had a governor that was campaigning by saying, 'I have no problem with it but I'm against it.' … When the bill passed by both the Senate and the Assembly [and] landed on his desk, he vetoed it.' 'The hypocrite,' Takei continues with a raised voice, alluding to Schwarzenegger's extramarital affair. 'I was so angry and determined to come out and join in on the fight.' Takei already had a reputation for fighting for causes he believed in. He volunteered with a humanitarian organization and was involved with student government at Mt Vernon Junior High. He was active in local politics in the 1970s and '80s. He'd also long been a part of the civil rights movement and opposed the Vietnam War. 'Participation in democracy, taking on the responsibility of democracy, was something that I was taught as a teenager to put our internment in context,' says Takei. 'That led me to volunteer for other causes.' Takei credits his father for instilling this sense of responsibility in him. As a teenager, when Takei became interested in understanding his childhood imprisonment beyond his own memories, he would sit down with his father after dinner to ask him about their time in the incarceration camps. During these conversations, Takei says his father would quote Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. ''Ours is the government of the people, by the people and for the people,'' says Takei. 'Those are noble ideals. That's what makes American democracy great. But the weakness of American democracy is also in those words … because the people are fallible. They make mistakes.' Even as these hard-fought rights have been backsliding in recent years as more states have moved to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, Takei remains hopeful. 'Life is cyclical,' says Takei. 'It goes in circles. … We're constantly changing and transforming our society and ourselves.' He points to how the Alien Enemies Act, which was invoked during World War II to wrongly justify the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, is once again being cited by the current administration in its efforts to deport immigrants. (Takei's comments preceded the immigration raids and protests that occurred in L.A. over the weekend.) 'We have this egocentric monster [in office]," says Takei, raising his voice a second time. "He's power-crazy and ... now he's causing all sorts of outrageous inhumanity — it's beyond injustice, it's inhumanity — and we're going through that again. The same thing that we went through [when we were] artificially categorized as enemy alien in 1942.' Takei never once mentions Trump by name, instead calling him "a Klingon president," referencing a well-known alien race from the "Star Trek" franchise. "Klingons are the great threat to a more enlightened society who can see diversity as their strength," says Takei. "We've got to be rid of him." The depictions of Klingons have shifted over the years, but it's clear Takei is invoking the more brutal, prideful and authoritarian version introduced in the original series in the 1960s. And in Roddenberry's more idyllic vision of the future, humanity's strength is in its diversity. ("Infinite diversity in infinite combinations," says Takei.) 'I'm still optimistic,' says Takei. 'These momentary blips in history eventually get overcome and are left behind. We will find our true path.' Get the latest book news, events and more in your inbox every Saturday. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
USA Today
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
George Takei gets candid about coming out, feud with Trump: 'Biggest Klingon around'
George Takei gets candid about coming out, feud with Trump: 'Biggest Klingon around' George Takei didn't come out as gay until he was 68, but don't refer to it as his time in the closet. A more apt word would be 'imprisoned,' he tells USA TODAY. The 'Star Trek' actor knows what it's like to be imprisoned – when he was 5 years old, during World War II, soldiers carrying rifles marched up to his house and took him and his family to Japanese internment camps. He spent part of his childhood behind barbed wire. Takei has written several books, including a first-hand account of his time at those camps in 'They Called Us Enemy.' In his latest book, 'It Rhymes With Takei' (out now from Penguin Random House), the actor gives his most intimate look yet at coming out as gay, as well as a look back at his childhood, adulthood, political activism and acting career. George Takei shares coming out story in new book 'It Rhymes With Takei' is a graphic novel, an intentional choice to give it accessibility, Takei says. His youth was a 'childhood of deprivation,' with no radio or newspapers, 'moving around at the point of a bayonet,' he says. When his family was released and moved to Skid Row, it was comic books that opened up his world. Takei hopes his graphic memoir – with bright colors and engaging illustrations by Harmony Becker, Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott – will reach audiences young and old. He especially wants it to resonate with young activists. The title 'It Rhymes With Takei' is a callback to a signature humorous Takei take. In 2011, he fired back at 'don't say gay' legislation introduced in Tennessee by lending his name to the cause because it rhymes (he pronounces his last name ta-kay, not tak-eye). 'If you're in a festive mood, you can march in a Takei Pride parade!' Takei said in a 2011 YouTube video. Takei's first acting gig was pretending to be straight. He realized he was different from his heterosexual peers shortly after his family got out of internment. Today, he uses the word 'imprisoned' because that's what it felt like – when he left the barbed wires of his childhood, he felt similarly confined living inauthentically. Though he had relationships with men throughout most of his adult life, he didn't come out until 2005. In the years leading up to that, he'd watched close friends die from AIDS. He saw more and more activists speaking out. Not being open about his sexuality came 'with a sense of guilt,' Takei says. Though he'd been with now-husband Brad Altman for 20 years, their relationship was mostly secret. He never felt he could be his 'whole self,' he writes in the book. 'Here I am protecting my job, my career, what I want to do, while others who had the same difference that I did were sacrificing all that and actively engaging with the larger society and making progress,' he tells USA TODAY. The eventual catalyst was when former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would legalize gay marriage in California. In 2008, when it became legal, Takei and Altman were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood. Now, two decades after coming out, he's found the 'whole' George Takei. 'It feels very liberating,' Takei says. 'I don't have to be on my guard, kind of mentally fencing and saying what I want to say but without giving myself away. I developed that skill, but now I don't need to. I can be candid and forthright.' George Takei slams Trump, anti-LGBTQ legislation in new book Among the topics he's unabashedly speaking about is President Donald Trump, who vowed to use the Alien Enemies Act to round up certain groups of immigrants. The same law was used to detain Japanese Americans, like Takei's family. 'We obviously have not learned a lesson from that chapter of American history,' Takei says. Takei has a long history of activism and public service, from volunteering with the Red Cross as a teenager to working on democratic political campaigns to serving on a Southern California committee to initiate and plan the Los Angeles subway system. He was a member of an anti-war activist group in Hollywood alongside Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. He protested nuclear testing and once ran for the LA City Council. Since he came out, he's been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. In 2013, after he appeared on a season of Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice," Takei met Trump for lunch inside Trump Tower in New York, hoping to make the case for the 'financial benefits' of marriage equality to him. He was unsuccessful. Then in 2015, Trump told Time Magazine he might have supported internment. At the time, Takei was starring in a Broadway musical inspired by his family's internment experience, 'Allegiance.' Takei saved Trump a seat in the audience every night. 'If you want to see how tough it was from the comfort of your seat, you can be there with us in the camps and get a glimpse of what it was like for families like mine who were unjustly imprisoned thanks to a politics of fear, much like the one you're campaigning on,' Takei said in a YouTube video at the time. Trump never showed. Ten years and two Trump administrations later, Takei fears for the state of democracy under the leader he calls 'the biggest Klingon around,' a reference to the humanoid alien antagonists in 'Star Trek.' A few things give him hope, however, namely that 'the Republicans are starting to fight amongst themselves.' 'Change is constant and change will come,' Takei says. 'I'm working to make sure that we participate in making it a better, more responsible democracy. No more Klingons.' Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
George Takei believes our democracy will be OK — once the ‘Klingon president' is out of office
Before George Takei broke out with his role on 'Star Trek' and became a cultural icon, his last name was often mispronounced. Instead of 'tuh-kay,' some people would say 'tuck-eye.' 'I told them that's a mispronunciation, but I don't object to it because the word takai in Japanese means 'expensive,'' the actor and advocate says during a recent Zoom call from Boston. 'In fact, I told this to ['Star Trek' creator] Gene Roddenberry when he was interviewing me and he said, 'Oh my goodness, a producer doesn't like to call an actor expensive. Takei is OK.'' Having to educate people about his name is one of the reasons he included it in the playful title of his latest graphic memoir, 'It Rhymes With Takei.' 'I didn't want it to be in their face,' says Takei. 'I thought I'd use [my name] in the title and make the reader work a little bit … Takai? Takei? May, day, pay, say, gay. Oh, gay!' Out Tuesday, 'It Rhymes With Takei' is about the actor's experiences growing up gay at a time when it was much less safe — and thus less common — to be out. The book details Takei's story from his earliest childhood crushes to being compelled to come out in 2005 and becoming the outspoken LGBTQ+ rights activist he is today. For 'It Rhymes With Takei,' the author once again teamed up with writers Steven Scott and Justin Eisinger and artist Harmony Becker, his collaborators for 'They Called Us Enemy,' the 2019 graphic memoir about Takei's childhood imprisonment in incarceration camps during World War II. Takei is no stranger to sharing personal stories. In addition to his books, he has been the subject of a documentary. There is a musical loosely inspired by his time in wartime incarceration camps. In the last 20 years, he's also discussed his experiences as a gay man, especially as it relates to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, but 'It Rhymes With Takei' is his first deep dive into his full story. Born in Boyle Heights, Takei was just 5 when he and his family were forced out of their Los Angeles home as part of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during the war. Because he was unjustly persecuted for his identity and perceived as 'different,' when he realized he was different in another way, he kept it close to his chest. 'I grew up behind very real barbed wire fences, but I created my own invisible barbed wire fence … and lived most of my adult life closeted,' says Takei, 88, who came out when he was 68. 'My most personal issue had me imprisoned. … It was a different society that I grew up in. Being closeted was the way to survive if you're LGBTQ.' 'But at the same time as I remained closeted, society was starting to change,' Takei continues. 'It was changing because some LGBTQ people were brave enough [and] determined enough to come out and be active and vocal and engaged.' Since coming out in 2005, Takei has been vocal about issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, wielding his quick wit and gentlemanly poise — as well as his massive platform — to denounce discrimination, blast homophobic public figures and call out other injustices. In 2011, for instance, Takei offered his name to be used as an alternative to the word 'gay' when Tennessee lawmakers were moving to prohibit teachers from any discussion of sexual orientation in the classroom. He continued to speak out against the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill when more states were pushing versions through their legislatures during a surge in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in 2022. As Takei shares stories about his family moving to Skid Row after being released from the wartime incarceration camps, getting introduced to radio and comic books as he adjusted to his new life and the aspirational ideals upheld by 'Star Trek,' he occasionally glances offscreen to banter with his husband, Brad, who is out of frame but close enough to interject if he chooses. They're the sort of comfortable exchanges that come naturally between longtime couples. But for most of his life, Takei believed that he could not be out if he wanted to pursue an acting career. He'd seen firsthand how rumors or getting outed affected the careers of others. And Takei admits that he felt guilty watching fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community as they fought for their rights while he remained silent. When then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a marriage equality bill passed by California's legislature in 2005, Takei knew he could no longer remain on the sidelines. 'I was so raging with anger,' says Takei, who did not reference Schwarzenegger by name. 'We were getting so close [to marriage equality] and I was really elated. But we had a governor that was campaigning by saying, 'I have no problem with it but I'm against it.' … When the bill passed by both the Senate and the Assembly [and] landed on his desk, he vetoed it.' 'The hypocrite,' Takei continues with a raised voice, alluding to Schwarzenegger's extramarital affair. 'I was so angry and determined to come out and join in on the fight.' Takei already had a reputation for fighting for causes he believed in. He volunteered with a humanitarian organization and was involved with student government at Mt Vernon Junior High. He was active in local politics in the 1970s and '80s. He'd also long been a part of the civil rights movement and opposed the Vietnam War. 'Participation in democracy, taking on the responsibility of democracy, was something that I was taught as a teenager to put our internment in context,' says Takei. 'That led me to volunteer for other causes.' Takei credits his father for instilling this sense of responsibility in him. As a teenager, when Takei became interested in understanding his childhood imprisonment beyond his own memories, he would sit down with his father after dinner to ask him about their time in the incarceration camps. During these conversations, Takei says his father would quote Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. ''Ours is the government of the people, by the people and for the people,'' says Takei. 'Those are noble ideals. That's what makes American democracy great. But the weakness of American democracy is also in those words … because the people are fallible. They make mistakes.' Even as these hard-fought rights have been backsliding in recent years as more states have moved to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, Takei remains hopeful. 'Life is cyclical,' says Takei. 'It goes in circles. … We're constantly changing and transforming our society and ourselves.' He points to how the Alien Enemies Act, which was invoked during World War II to wrongly justify the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, is once again being cited by the current administration in its efforts to deport immigrants. (Takei's comments preceded the immigration raids and protests that occurred in L.A. over the weekend.) 'We have this egocentric monster [in office],' says Takei, raising his voice a second time. 'He's power-crazy and ... now he's causing all sorts of outrageous inhumanity — it's beyond injustice, it's inhumanity — and we're going through that again. The same thing that we went through [when we were] artificially categorized as enemy alien in 1942.' Takei never once mentions Trump by name, instead calling him 'a Klingon president,' referencing a well-known alien race from the 'Star Trek' franchise. 'Klingons are the great threat to a more enlightened society who can see diversity as their strength,' says Takei. 'We've got to be rid of him.' The depictions of Klingons have shifted over the years, but it's clear Takei is invoking the more brutal, prideful and authoritarian version introduced in the original series in the 1960s. And in Roddenberry's more idyllic vision of the future, humanity's strength is in its diversity. ('Infinite diversity in infinite combinations,' says Takei.) 'I'm still optimistic,' says Takei. 'These momentary blips in history eventually get overcome and are left behind. We will find our true path.'
Time Out
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Music of the Cosmos
Courtesy Conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops bring audiences among the stars for a multimedia program on May 23 and 24 at 7:30pm that explores the intersection of music, space, and science fiction. Featuring the incomparable George Takei as your cosmic storyteller and developed in partnership with the Museum of Science, Boston and its Center for Space Sciences, the Music of the Cosmos concert will boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. Stay after the concert for a meet and greet with Takei and special guest Astronaut Sunita Williams. By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. 🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed! Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! Discover Time Out original video
Irish Daily Star
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
Star Trek alum mocks Trump administration for 'wearing makeup' amid LGBTQ+ backlash
George Takei, the iconic Star Trek actor, has humorously called out Donald Trump and his administration for their hypocrisy over LGBTQ+ issues, all while sporting a fair bit of "makeup" themselves. The 88-year-old quipped on social media: " Pete Hegseth installed a make-up station at the Pentagon. JD Vance loves a smoky dark eyeliner. Trump cakes on orange base till he resembles an Oompa Loompa. And these guys say LGBTQs are threatening gender norms?" Takei's comments refer to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's alleged request for a makeup studio in the Pentagon press briefing room, presumably to spruce up before TV appearances. As for the jab at Vice President JD Vance, it seems AI ads have been having a field day poking fun at Vance's notably dark lashes, suggesting he's a fan of eyeliner. Read More Related Articles Jenna Bush Hager announces major career move in heartfelt 11-word statement Read More Related Articles Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly moves on from Kevin Costner series in new detective drama Meanwhile, the Trump administration has come under fire for its leaked budget draft, which reveals plans to slash funding for a crucial suicide prevention hotline dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ youth. Advocates in New York have warned that the proposed cuts to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services could have dire consequences. George Takei has trolled Donald Trump. (Image: AP) The lifeline offers federally funded assistance to anyone nationwide grappling with a mental health crisis. To add insult to injury, over 270 LGBTQ-related grants amounting to at least $125 million of unspent funds have also been axed, though insiders told NBC News the actual figure is likely much higher, reports the Mirror US . NBC News got hold of cancellation letters that vaguely state the discontinued research doesn't match with NIH priorities anymore, mentioning executive orders by President Donald Trump. These include one prohibiting recognition of transgender identities and another opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Grants focusing on LGBTQ issues have also been affected at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania . One fan brought George Takei's criticism of the administration's stance on the LGBTQ+ community into the spotlight by sharing it on a Reddit forum. In the ensuing online discussion, fans didn't hold back their thoughts, with one commenting, "Trump also wears pumps and a stomach girdle. Plus, his hair is 100% low-quality hairplugs." George Takei has bashed the Trump administration. (Image: Getty Images for Foundation for the AIDS Monument) Another person juxtaposed old and new pictures of Elon Musk, remarking, "And we mustn't forget about this profilic transphobe who opposes gender-affirming care (unless it's for himself)." Other commenters expressed admiration, with praise like "George Takei we don't deserve you," while another noted him as the "Best Trek alumni," A highlight from the slew of comments described George Takei saying, "George describes himself as 'Your naughty Asian uncle.' I love him." Additional remarks included endorsements such as "He's certainly not Wrong," "Sasscism," and a supportive "Amen brother." For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .
