William Shatner hits back after George Takei called him a 'guinea pig' and 'unfit' following Blue Origin spaceflight

• William Shatner responded to George Takei's comments about him and the Blue Origin spaceflight.
• Takei told Page Six that Shatner was "unfit" and a "guinea pig" following the spaceflight.

William Shatner criticized his former "Star Trek" co-star George Takei, who called Shatner a "guinea pig" and "unfit" following his Blue Origin spaceflight.

Shatner shared a pointed Twitter post directed at Takei on Friday, just two days after he and a crew were flown into space by Jeff Bezos' rocket company. The 90-year-old became the oldest person ever to visit space.

"Don't hate George. The only time he gets press is when he talks bad about me," Shatner wrote. "He claims 50+ years ago I took away a camera angle that denied him 30 more seconds of prime time TV."

Shatner continued that he was "giving it back to him now by letting him spew his hatred for the world to see!"

-William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) October 16, 2021

Takei, 84, previously spoke out against Shatner to Page Six following the spaceflight.

"He's boldly going where other people have gone before," Takei told the outlet. "He's a guinea pig, 90 years old and it's important to find out what happens."

Takei suggested that Shatner's age could be a hindrance.

"So 90 years old is going to show a great deal more on the wear and tear on the human body, so he'll be a good specimen to study. Although he's not the fittest specimen of 90 years old, so he'll be a specimen that's unfit!" Takei told Page Six.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explained to TMZ that Shatner's age wouldn't affect his flight.

The outlet noted that Shatner and Takei are involved in a public feud spanning several decades. In 2019, Takei said during a Q & A with The Guardian that his dream dinner party would include the "Star Trek" cast with "one exception.

It was believed that Takei was referring to Shatner.

Shatner also faced criticism for the Blue Origin spaceflight from Prince William, who told the BBC that billionaires should focus on repairing the planet instead of space tourism.

"The idea the space race is on at the moment, we've seen everyone trying to get space tourism going - it's the idea that 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 the BBC's Adam Fleming.

Shatner responded that the British monarch had "the wrong idea" about spaceflight.

"The prince is missing the point," Shatner told Entertainment Tonight. "The point is these are the baby steps to show people [that] it's very practical. You can send somebody like me up into space."