Starfleet Academy's First Gay Klingon Has The Support Of Star Trek Legend George Takei

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" isn't afraid to break boundaries and shake up the "Star Trek" status quo. Indeed, the show's seventh episode, "Ko'Zeine," has now made Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané) the first canonically queer Klingon. Jay-Den was already a pretty unusual Klingon, being a healer rather than a traditional warrior, and that was before "Ko'Zeine" showed him with his boyfriend Kyle (Dale Whibley) and flirting with his friend and classmate Darem (George Hawkins). Jay-Den's inclusion on "Starfleet Academy" feels huge, but it was a long time in the making.

The "Star Trek" franchise has a complicated history with LGBTQ+ representation. Though the show has always aimed to be inclusive and progressive, one of its earliest stars was a gay man who felt trapped in the closet until much later in life. Actor George Takei starred as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise, on "Star Trek: The Original Series," and he's since become a queer rights champion. The franchise attempted to honor him by making the Kelvin timeline Sulu (John Cho) explicitly queer in "Star Trek Beyond," though Takei did not approve of a gay Sulu in any way. Despite this, Sulu's sexuality in "Star Trek Beyond" had a pretty major impact on Trekkies who'd been waiting for a canonically queer main character in the franchise for years. After decades of flirting with LGBTQ+ representation on shows like "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager," someone in the franchise was finally out and proud.

Thankfully, Takei is completely supportive of Jay-Den and Diané. Taking to TikTok, the "Starfleet Academy" actor revealed that he reached out to the "Star Trek" legend and was not only given his blessing but his full support.

According to Karim Diané's TikTok, he ran into George Takei and his husband Brad at a Broadway show and got their contact information. He later emailed Takei and received a heartfelt e-mail back from Brad that explained how meaningful it was for both of them to see Diané "step into a queer role" on a "Star Trek" show. A follow-up e-mail highlighted just how much progress had been made since Takei starred on "Star Trek: The Original Series" back in the 1960s, with Brad Takei writing:

"There's something profoundly moving about seeing a Klingon character who defies stereotypes — a young cadet discovering himself while honoring his heritage. The fact that your character is about to step fully into his authentic self in ways that previous 'Star Trek' had to whisper about is exactly what Gene Roddenberry would have dreamed possible."

Jay-Den isn't the first canonically queer "Star Trek" character (Tawny Newsome's wonderful Beckett Mariner on "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is an explicitly queer woman herself, for example), and while earlier shows like "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" helped me feel seen as a young queer person, seeing an openly gay Klingon on "Starfleet Academy" is a pretty massive step forward. Jay-Den is a groundbreaking Klingon in a whole bunch of different ways, and it's wonderful that George Takei, the original patron saint of queer Trekkies, has recognized the moment for what it is.

"Star Trek" has come a long way with regards to its LGBTQ+ representation, moving from characters who could only hint at their identities without causing major controversy to a character who's not only an openly gay man but an openly gay male Klingon. And while the vast majority of the feedback he's gotten has been from young queer people who feel seen, Karim Diané points out in his TikTok that there has been some backlash, too. That's not really a big surprise, given the fact that "Starfleet Academy" was review-bombed by viewers who accused the series of "going woke," but it is a real shame that we still have a long ways to go before bigotry is obsolete and homophobia is a thing of the past.

You can stream episodes of "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" right now on Paramount+.