A formerly beloved celebrity activist and one of social media’s most popular figures, George Takei, has turned to the dark side, it has been declared.
The Star Trek actor who has made a name for himself while supporting a variety of progressive causes has been deemed irredeemably wicked after saying in an interview that Clarence Thomas, the only African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, is “a clown in blackface” and a “disgrace.”
Although Takei later tried to defend himself on his Facebook page, saying that racism was not his “intent,” it was too late. Justice on social media is carried out swiftly, a place where little regard is given for one’s intentions, and where punishment can be meted out by gangs of keyboard vigilantes numbering in the millions. Takei is now being called “the new Paula Deen.” In under 24 hours, his Twitter following dropped from 1.68 million to six.
“One strike and you’re out, totally black, uh, blacklisted,” said barista Nathan Bloom, 23. “George Takei, Facebook’s face of compassion, indefatigable reactionary, and general in the fight to end discrimination, should know better than anyone the consequences of making racist-ish statements. Forgiveness is divine, but the Internet is a profane realm.”
“I loved him so much, and I really believed that this cute elderly man could do no harm,” said 43-year-old computer programmer Allie Suskind. “I’ve been retweeting him for years. He was like the gay, well-dressed, internet-savvy politically active grandfather of Japanese descent I never had. But now I see him for the role he always wanted but never got: Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. You’re dead to me, Mr. Sulu.”
“We’re taking out Trump, and we’re not afraid to take out Takei,” said 17-year-old social justice activist Curtis Briarwood. “Our fury isn’t the manifestation of boredom coupled with dissatisfaction with our parents. Oh no. We are conducting a grand inquisition to root out every last vestige of racism, real, exaggerated, or even imagined.”
As of Friday, reports were circulating that Takei had returned to the neighborhood where he grew up in Los Angeles and was attempting, but with no success, to form a white supremacist community theater troupe.