Recently at New York Comic Con, ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ star Jason Isaacs shared his thoughts on fan response on social media and how he feels the give and take between the fans and show creators has gone. While he tried to assure fans that their opinions are not being disregarded and that the writers try very hard to keep things in canon and meet fan expectations, he said he enjoyed the passion of the fanbase in that regard:
“This is a different world [than Harry Potter] — the Star Trek world — where adults love and revere and protect this. It’s mostly, at least from what I’ve experienced, on this social media… is how you encounter it. It’s mostly just love and excitement and fabulously positive things. And then there are the people — genuine fans — who are are skeptical, don’t want to pay or particularly obsessed with technical things. It’s not my business to tell them ‘Don’t worry, they’re tearing each other’s eyes out in the writer’s room about matters of canon as well. Don’t think that they don’t care about it. They’ve got an explanation that you may or may not be satisfied with…Those people are very welcome and we’re thrilled that they’re arguing about it, that they’re upset, angry, or they love it. Any of that stuff is fine”
However, there were some things that Isaacs did not tolerate from the fans, namely when it came to discussing those people on Twitter hating on Sonequa Martin-Green and the show’s choice to have a black female as the lead of the new series:
“…There’s also a bunch of people who are upset that there’s woman lead, or that there’s a woman of color lead, or that there’s a diverse platform and we’ve got a bunch of from every gender and sexuality and stuff… and those people can go f#$% themselves.”
Of course, Isaacs is not the first one to address the Twitter trolls hating on the show for having a black woman be the lead on a ‘Star Trek’ series. Sonequa Martin-Green herself addressed the issue while speaking to Entertainment Weekly, though she spoke with a bit more poise and grace on the subject than her co-star:
“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.”
Personally, I’m with Isaacs. Of all the things to complain about with ‘Star Trek: Discovery,’ the lead is not one of them, and especially at this point in time, it seems silly to have to defend the choice to have a woman of any ethnicity as the main character. And that is especially true of a ‘Star Trek’ show, which has always been about diversity and a future where our cultural differences are not the hot button issues they are today. So no matter how crass some of his comments may be, I say well done Mr. Isaacs, keep putting those trolls in their place.
