William Shatner responds to Prince William's criticism of his Blue Origin space trip
Oct 15, 2021
Washington [US], October 15 : Hollywood's 'Captain Kirk' William Shatner has responded to Prince William's criticism of his recent space trip saying that the future monarch has "got the wrong idea."
According to Fox News, earlier this week, the Duke of Cambridge had criticised space tourism right as the 'Star Trek' actor famously jetted off to space onboard a Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket.
"We need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live," William told a news outlet.
He further said, "I think that ultimately is what sold it for me - that really is quite crucial to be focusing on this [planet] rather than giving up and heading out into space to try and think of solutions for the future."
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Shatner addressed the comments. He said, "He's got the wrong idea here, it's not to go, 'Oh look at me, I'm in space.'"
He then offered up a message for William and added, "I would tell the prince, and I hope the prince gets this message, this is a baby step of getting all those polluting industries off of Earth. You can build a base 250, 280 miles above the Earth and send that power down here."
When pressed about Williams' school of thought i.e. fixing Earth rather than leaving it, Shatner offered that people should "fix some stuff down here" after all.
"Everybody in their lifetime needs to be reminded: You're important, you're beautiful do something important today. That's what that trip did to me - it reminded me of death facing me because of my age, but also how to protect you in the years to come," explained Shatner.
In his discussion with the news outlet, William had also raised concerns about the carbon cost of space flights, as per Fox News.
Bezos, Virgin's Richard Branson and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have all competitively ventured into space tourism as of late and Musk has frequently talked about the importance of making humankind "interplanetary" especially if Earth becomes uninhabitable.
