William Shatner has no regrets after snubbing Leonard Nimoy's funeral
William Shatner is unrepentant about his decision not to attend the funeral of his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy - insisting he doesn't care about the backlash
William Shatner doesn't regret his decision not to attend the funeral of his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy.
Nimoy - who played Spock in the original sci-fi TV series and movies - died in 2015 at the age of 83 and Captain Kirk actor Shatner shocked fans of the franchise by choosing to attend a charity event at Donald Trump's Florida resort Mar-a-Lago instead of paying his final respects to his longtime colleague.
However, Shatner, 91, remains unrepentant about the decision, telling Variety: "When Leonard Nimoy died a few years ago, his funeral was on a Sunday. His death was very sudden, and I had obligated myself to go to Mar-a-Lago for a Red Cross fundraiser. I was one of the celebrities raising money. That event was on Saturday night. I chose to keep my promise and go to Mar-a-Lago instead of the funeral."
He went on: "I said to the audience [at the fundraiser]: 'People ask about a legacy. There’s no legacy. Statues are torn down. Graveyards are ransacked. Headstones are knocked over. No one remembers anyone. Who remembers Danny Kaye or Cary Grant? They were great stars. But they’re gone and no one cares'. But what does live on are good deeds. If you do a good deed, it reverberates to the end of time. It’s the butterfly effect thing."
When asked if he was stung by the backlash from fans over the funeral snub, Shatner replied: "Who cares? I know what I did was right. So it doesn’t matter. We’re criticised when we lift a finger. I don’t read that stuff. I try to not to indulge in the evil that’s out there."
