‘Star Trek: Discovery’ EP says casting of Michelle Yeoh, Sonequa Martin-Green sparked racist hate mail
June 17, 2022
Executive producer of “Star Trek: Discovery” Jenny Lumet recently revealed that some viewers sent racist hate mail targeting actors Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lumet said the backlash was in response to the 2017 series premiere, featuring Martin-Green and Yeoh walking on a planet.
“The hate mail!” she exclaimed. “’There are no Black people or Asian people in space!’ Yeah, I know. It’s tricky. There’s the blue guy over there and a tentacle guy over there, but Michelle Yeoh? What the f*ck is she doing there?”
“Star Trek: Discovery” is the first installment of the series to feature a Black woman, Martin-Green, as its lead. Yeoh also takes on the prominent role of Emperor Philippa Georgiou.
The casting decision prompted some controversy from Trekkies, notably by a Fox News contributor who claimed that the franchise was heading in the direction of “woke politics.”
George Takei, who played the iconic role of Hikaru Sulu in the original cast, famously tweeted a response to the opinion piece, writing, “Who wants to tell him?”
The actor also added the hashtag #IDIC in reference to what fans would recognize as the Vulcan philosophy, “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination.”
Featured Image via Netflix
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