Beam her up to hero status.
“Star Trek: Discovery” actor Sonequa Martin-Green ― the first black woman to be the lead in the franchise ― proved racist trolls wrong on Thursday, as she praised the universal appeal of “Star Trek” and pointed out its yearslong diversity.
The New Yorker last month reported on the ugly backlash to the new “Star Trek” show’s trailer, featuring Martin-Green as the lieutenant commander and Michelle Yeoh as the Starfleet captain. Some commenters decried the lack of an alpha male in charge, the magazine wrote, calling it a fear of “white genocide.”
But Martin-Green had the perfect advice for bigots.
“I would encourage them to key into the essence and spirit of ‘Star Trek’ that has made it the legacy it is — and that’s looking across the way to the person sitting in front of you and realizing you are the same, that they are not separate from you, and we are all one,” she told Entertainment Weekly on Thursday. “That’s something ‘Star Trek’ has always upheld and I completely believe that is why it’s been a mainstay in society in the hearts of so many people for so many decades.”
Noting the franchise’s casting diversity dating back to the original series in the 1960s, Martin-Green said she was proud of being on a “Star Trek” seen through the eyes of a black woman.
“I feel like we’re taking another step forward, which I think all stories should do,” she said to EW. “We should go boldly where nobody has gone before and stay true to that.”
“Star Trek: Discovery,” which takes place before Capt. James T. Kirk and crew, will be available on CBS All Access beginning Sept. 24, Variety reported. The premiere will also air on CBS that day.
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