William Shatner Mocks Stephen Miller Over ‘Star Trek’ Franchise Comments

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William Shatner showed off his quick wit this week in a popular online conversation with Stephen Miller, a senior government official.

The discussion started when Miller, a top policy advisor at the White House, commented on a clip from the new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Miller shared a post from the account End Wokeness that criticized how the actors looked on the show.

Miller shared a critical take on the current state of the franchise in a social media post. He wrote, “It’s a sad situation, but @paramountplus can still turn things around. They should start by making amends with @WilliamShatner and giving him complete creative freedom.” The original post, from the account End Wokeness, featured cast members Tricia Black, Gina Yashere, and Holly Hunter, and suggested their appearances were unbelievably outlandish.

Instead of addressing the political implications of Stephen Miller’s statement about “wokeness,” 94-year-old actor William Shatner focused on a detail from the clip. He tweeted, “I am so on the same page with you @StephenM!” and playfully complained that in the future depicted, vision problems still hadn’t been fixed.

William Shatner jokingly criticized a show for not having cured farsightedness by the 32nd century. He suggested the production team was cutting corners, implying that a futuristic organization like Starfleet should be able to afford more than one pair of glasses for its crew.

He jokingly wondered if everyone on set needed to wear glasses to operate the ship. He then playfully blamed the line producers, asking, “Was that your intention?” and enthusiastically offered to take over the series, urging them to contact him. Miller, however, didn’t respond to the humor and instead repeated his request for Paramount to resolve their issues with Shatner.

I completely agree with StephenM! It’s a huge plot hole that they haven’t found a cure for farsightedness by the 32nd century. And honestly, Paramount+ needs to invest more money – you’d expect a well-run organization like Starfleet to have solved this by now…

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) January 19, 2026

A recent clip from the show caught the attention of Elon Musk, who made fun of the actors’ looks. He tweeted, “Looks like they stopped using Ozempic and LASIK in the future!” Tricia Black, who plays Lt. Rork, responded on Instagram, saying she was happy with how she looked and jokingly pointed out that the world’s richest person had repeated a joke many people had already made.

Turns out they banned Ozempic and LASIK in the future lol

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 11, 2026

The Star Trek franchise has always been known for its forward-thinking ideals, starting with its creation by Gene Roddenberry in the 1960s. William Shatner first played Captain James T. Kirk and continued in the role for many years, until his character’s death in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations. Though Shatner usually stays away from directly discussing politics, he did object to the term “cisgender” in 2020, calling it a harmful and offensive label.

Even though he’s quite elderly, William Shatner is still very busy with work and remains a public figure. He gained worldwide attention in 2021 by becoming the oldest person to travel to space, flying on a Blue Origin spacecraft. He also continues to host the History Channel series The UnXplained, where he investigates unexplained mysteries.

The new show Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, which has sparked some debate, launched last week on Paramount+. Created by Gaia Violo, it follows a group of young cadets as they grow up at the famous Starfleet Academy. The series features a performance by Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, who plays the Academy Chancellor.

Set 300 years in the future, this series continues storylines from Star Trek: Discovery. Actor Paul Giamatti plays the main villain, adding a well-known face to the show. Despite mixed reactions from viewers online, the series has already been picked up for another season.

The new series is getting a mixed reaction, though most critics see promise. They’ve described it as having big ideas but some flaws in how those ideas are carried out, while also highlighting the likable cast. The show tries to combine the exciting, action-packed elements of the original with a story about growing up.

Let us know in the comments if you believe William Shatner should be in charge of the Star Trek franchise.

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2026-01-21 15:17