Simon Pegg Prefers Star Trek Fans Over 'Toxic' Star Wars Fans

Most sci-fi fans have a preference between the genre's two biggest franchises, Star Trek and Star Wars. As someone who has worked on films in both franchises, Simon Pegg certainly does, particularly when it comes to their respective fan bases. For Pegg, Star Trek wins by a landslide.

On SiriusXM's "Jim and Sam" radio show this week, Pegg was asked which fans are hardest to please. "To be honest... The Star Wars fan base really seems to be the most kind of toxic at the moment," he said. "I'm probably being very controversial to say that."

Pegg, who played Scotty in recent Star Trek films and Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, went on to say he feels Star Wars fans have been more resistant to diversity and inclusion. Recently, actress Moses Ingram faced racist backlash from fans after being cast in Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi, which premiered in May.

Conversely, Pegg said, "I find the Star Trek fans have always been very, very inclusive. You know Star Trek's about diversity. It has been since 1966, it always was."

Star Trek is known for casting the first Black woman, Nichelle Nichols, to play a leading role on television in the 1960s. The franchise has continued to prioritize diversity, most recently by casting Jesse James Keitel as the universe's first non-binary character in Brave New Worlds. Keitel's debut came in a June episode of the Paramount+ series.

"There's no sort of like, 'Oh, you're suddenly being woke.' No, Star Trek was woke from the beginning, you know?" Pegg said. "This is massively progressive. Star Wars suddenly there's, there's a little bit more diversity and everyone's kicking off about it.

"It's really sad," he concluded.

Kirstie Renae is a writer, blogger, and Austin-based actress with a penchant for binge-watching TV with her dogs. Follow her on Twitter @KirstieRenae.