Actor Wil Wheaton, known for his longtime role as kid genius Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, welcomed pride month this weekend by giving a special shout-out to his queer fans.
Wheaton, 48, took to Facebook to publicly acknowledge the number of Star Trek fans that had a crush on the actor–or his character–during the show’s run.
“Over the years, I’ve met several men who have told me that their childhood crush on Wesley Crusher was a big part of them coming out and living their lives with joy and love and pride,” Wheaton wrote. “I can not even begin to tell you how much this means to me. I love it so much that I, and some of my work, were there for people (when I didn’t even know it was happening) who needed a safe place.”
“Happy Pride,” he concluded, “you lovely and perfect humans. I, and Wesley Crusher, see you, and we absolutely adore you.”
As the post went viral, Wheaton’s wife, Anne Wheaton, also weighed in on Twitter. “Over the years,” she wrote, “I’ve had men tell me that they had a crush on Wesley Crusher and then immediately apologize to me for it! Don’t apologize! We both love that his character helped you figure out who you are. Happy Pride, friends.”
Over the years, I've had men tell me they had a crush on Wesley Crusher and then immediately apologize to me for it. Don't apologize! We both love that his character helped you figure out who you are. And I love that Wil wrote a FB post about it.
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) June 5, 2021
Happy Pride, friends. ? pic.twitter.com/rUGM3evVwy
Wheaton’s on-screen Star Trek mom, actress Gates McFadden, also voiced her support. “Proud of my spaceson for writing this!,” McFadden tweeted. “Love you for posting space daughter-in-law.”
Wesley Crusher had a nasty habit of getting annoying on his episodes of Trek…though, truth be told, that didn’t stop us from crushing on the character as adolescents ourselves. We have a feeling Wheaton’s pride wishes will make rewatching Wesley-centric episodes of the show a bit more enjoyable.
Via Queerty
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