- - “Star Trek”'s Whoopi Goldberg defends show from 'woke' political accusations: 'Do your job'

Joey NolfiJanuary 22, 2026 at 2:30 AM

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Paramount Television/ Courtesy Everett; Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty

'Star Trek' actress Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan; Elon MuskKey Points -

Whoopi Goldberg called out Elon Musk and Stephen Miller for attacking Star Trek's new series.

"These people are bitching about a TV show," the Next Generation star said on The View.

Goldberg said they shouldn't worry about a show being "woke" while "people are being shot and killed."

Whoopi Goldberg has beamed up a passionate defense for her beloved Star Trek series amid attacks from political figures like Elon Musk and Stephen Miller.

The Oscar-winning actress — who portrayed Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation — called Musk and Miller out on The View over "bitching about a TV show" following the men's harsh criticism of the new franchise series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy amid chaotic social and political landscape in America.

Whoopi Goldberg responds to Stephen Miller and Elon Musk after they brand the new ‘Star Trek’ series as “woke”: “Do your job and we actors… we’ll do ours.” pic.twitter.com/4lUo8PpBV2

— The View (@TheView) January 21, 2026

"They're complaining that the show has gone woke," Goldberg, 70, said of the pair, after Musk, 54, wrote on X that the body types of the show's cast indicated, to him, that "they banned Ozempic and LASIK in the future." White House Deputy Chief of Staff, 40-year-old Miller, later said on the same site that "it’s not too late for @paramountplus to save the franchise" and called for the platform to give "total creative control" to former star William Shatner.

Paramount Television/ Courtesy Everett

Denise Crosby and Whoopi Goldberg on 'Star Trek: The New Generation'

Goldberg, a longtime supporter of Star Trek who even hosted a 2023 series reunion on The View, looked into the camera on Wednesday's episode of the talk show to tell both Musk and Miller, "If you've never been asleep, you can't be woke."

"See, 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," Goldberg said. "This was [creator Gene Roddenberry's] idea, this was his dream. When you watch Star Trek, that's what it shows you."

She then asked, "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?"

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She estimated that it was a measure "to distract from everything" that's going on in America.

"Please, do your job, and we actors and people from outer space, we'll do ours," Goldberg said, before throwing the show to a commercial break as the audience applauded her words.

Starfleet Academy star Gina Yashere, 51, also defended the show in recent weeks, with the English performer saying in an interview on CNN's The Story Is With Elex Michaelson that "Star Trek has been woke from day one," and that "woke is a good word" that has "been given negative connotations, but woke just means you're awake and aware of everything that's going on in the world around you."

Nicole Wilder/Paramount+ Whoopi Goldberg reprises her role as Guinan with Patrick Stewart on 'Star Trek: Picard'

Yashere added, "That's what Star Trek has always been about, so we're just carrying on that legacy."

After Miller named 94-year-old Shatner directly, the actor mocked the figure's earlier message in a lengthy response of his own on X.

"I am so on the same page with you @StephenM ! The fact that they have not cure Hyperopia by the 32rd Century is an abysmal oversight on the writers! Also @paramountplus needs to up the budget because I’m sure that a well oiled organization like Starfleet in the distant future could afford more than one pair of glasses for at least this hyperopic bridge crew," Shatner wrote. "Do they pass the glasses around while piloting the ship? Shame on the line producers! That is what you meant, right? I am ready to assume command of the series! Call me!"

The View airs weekdays on ABC.

on Entertainment Weekly

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