William Shatner chose not to attend the funeral of his late friend and co-star Leonard Nimoy in 2015 (Picture: Getty)
William Shatner knows he did the ‘right’ thing by not attending the funeral of his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy despite a mountain of backlash.
Nimoy, who played Spock in the original sci-fi series and films, died in 2015 at the age of 83.
In the wake of his death, 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 honouring his long-time colleague.
However, Shatner, 91, is confident that he made the right decision to stand by his charitable commitments.
Addressing the controversy, he said: ‘When Leonard Nimoy died a few years ago, his funeral was on a Sunday.
Nimoy portrayed Mr. Spock and Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek (Picture: Getty)
Both stars are pictured here in the Star Trek episode Plato’s Stepchildren, which originally aired in 1968 (Picture: Getty)
‘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.’
When pressed on the backlash from fans over missing the funeral, Shatner hit back.
He continued to Variety: ‘Who cares? I know what I did was right.
Shatner knows he made the ‘right’ decision to carry out his charity commitment (Picture: Getty)
‘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.’
At the time, Shatner voiced his dilemma on the social media platform Twitter.
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In one post, he said: ‘I am currently in FL, as I agreed to appear at the Red Cross charity ball tonight. Leonard’s funeral is tomorrow. I can’t make it back in time. ‘
In a separate tweet, he added: ‘I feel really awful. Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried.’
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