A new Star Trek series hit the 2026 TV schedule and caused quite a stir among viewers in recent weeks, as is often the case. Though Starfleet Academy received lots of praise from critics, other prominent names like Elon Musk and United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller bemoaned the show for pushing a "woke" agenda. Amidst their comments, The View's Whoopi Goldberg fired back with a big response.
Goldberg knows a lot about Trek, having been a longtime fan who played the mysterious bartender Guinan in The Next Generation. She made the jump to join the series after winning an Oscar, which was an unprecedented move at the time, so it's safe to say the actress has a lot of passion for the franchise. For that reason, she filled in The View audience on the discourse surrounding Starfleet Academy, Musk and Miller's comments, and why she felt they were out of line:
They’re complaining that the show has gone woke. If you’ve never been asleep, you can’t be woke. This was a show that was created with the idea that people from other planets would come and we would all find a way to exist together. This was Gene [Roddenberry’s] idea. This is his dream. And when you watch Star Trek, that’s what it shows you.
It's true, Star Trek is more than just space travel and exploration. It was built on the foundation of IDIC (Infinite Diversity Infinite Combinations) and has always pushed progressive ideals since the original series. Lest we forget the brouhaha it caused over its interracial kiss, which led to stations in the southern United States refusing to air it.
Despite that, Elon Musk and others have publicly expressed their distaste for elements of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, including the fact that the series features an openly lesbian couple. It's not the first Trek show to feature a same-sex couple either, as Paul Stamets and Hugh Culber were an openly gay married couple in Discovery.
Whoopi Goldberg wasn't having it, and questioned the motive of Musk and others in powerful positions being so concerned about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy:
Why are you concentrating on a television show when people are being shot and killed? When people are going hungry? When farmers are losing their farms? Kids can’t get meals at school. Why are you paying attention to this?
Others enjoying Star Trek: Starfleet Academy have a similar sentiment, though not quite as specific. I openly wondered after the trailer dropped why some Trekkies were adamant on speaking out about the trailer feeling "woke" almost a decade into the relaunch of the franchise. The franchise isn't doing anything different than it did back when Discovery launched in 2017, so those staying tuned in should know the deal by now.
I will say that Star Trek is facing an issue in its fandom, as many other long-running sci-fi shows like Star Wars and Doctor Who face. There are now fans across multiple generations invested in seeing new shows, but they all have different ideals on what is and isn't progressive, and what does and doesn't have a place in its franchise. It sets up an impossible task for the showrunners of these franchises, who can't create something that everyone will enjoy.
Maybe it's a unique problem in pop culture, or maybe it's just a reality that, because Star Trek is a series built on showing a progressive future, it will always have critics talking it down. In any case, the franchise celebrates 60 years in 2026, so I would expect to see a lot more headlines about it as the year continues, and maybe even some new show announcements.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy streams new episodes over on Paramount+ on Thursdays. The series is already returning for Season 2, so those watching likely don't have to worry about debate about the show impacting a renewal for now.
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