It was very sad news last week when Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy passed away, causing thousands of touching tributes across the Internet from fans and colleagues alike. One man who was very keen to praise his body of work was Star Trek co-star William Shatner, who took to Twitter to answer any questions fans had.
He told his followers that he respected his “compassion and dedication” and was the total opposite of Spock as he was “warm and loving”. When asked what the best thing Nimoy ever said to him, Shatner replied, “I love you”.
However, Shatner also announced that he would be unable to attend Nimoy’s funeral due to a charity commitment for the Red Cross which he wasn’t going to back out of. Many took offense to this and felt that Shatner was not trying hard enough to attend, with radio host Todd Schnitt even calling him out because he could have taken a private jet when Shatner claimed there were no flights from LAX that could accommodate him.
Shatner posted several tweets about the subject, including one newspaper that called him “Captain Jerk”, which you can check out below:
I am currently in FL as I agreed to appear at the Red Cross Ball tonight. Leonard’s funeral is tomorrow. I can’t make it back in time.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 28, 2015
“@NYDailyNews: An early look at tomorrow’s front page. http://t.co/ZDjADxLW48 pic.twitter.com/ijdwAwDw14” I want to share this. Let’s discuss it
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
I chose to honor a commitment I made months ago to appear at a charitable fundraiser. A lot of money was raised. So here I am; tell me off.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
.@c_write @LFarris812 Walking out on a major fundraiser wouldn’t have you calling me a jerk for leaving a charity high & dry? Hmm?
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
One of the other misconceptions seems to be that folks think flights to LAX occur all night long.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
.@NYDailyNews You know what I find puzzling. The headline is horrible but the article contradicts it.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 1, 2015
You guys may want to tell @WOR710 that their employee promised a donation of $30K to @RedCross that’s the cost of a priv Jet from FL to CA
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 2, 2015
What do you make of all this? Could Shatner of made the effort, or is his charity work more important?
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published March 2, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
