The Bold ‘Star Trek’ Kiss That Nearly Got Censored and Changed TV Forever
Imagine being told not to kiss your co-star because the network executives are worried about viewers in the South throwing a fit — all while filming a sci-fi show set in a utopian 23rd century where equality supposedly reigns supreme. That’s exactly what happened on the set of Star Trek in the late 1960s when William Shatner’s Captain Kirk was scripted to kiss Nichelle Nichols’s Lieutenant Uhura. Shatner called it “absolutely ludicrous,” and honestly, who could blame him? This wasn’t just about a kiss; it was a flashpoint in television history that challenged social norms and boldly pushed boundaries when it came to race and representation. But was this really TV’s first interracial kiss? And how did this moment stay on screen despite the network’s heavy reservations? Buckle up, because this tale is full of surprising twists— not unlike any good Star Trek episode.
“This is absolutely ludicrous,” William Shatner yelled. On the set of Star Trek, the late-1960s science-fiction adventure series brimming with aliens and strange terrain, such an assessment from an actor would not necessarily be out of place, particularly on a budget-conscious production. But Shatner’s heightened reaction was not the result of an implausible plot or a rubber costume. It was because NBC television executives were upset the script for that day’s shooting called for Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk to kiss Nichelle Nichols’s Lieutenant Nyota Uhura.
The problem was not the kiss itself, which was acceptable even by the conservative TV practices of the era. It was because Kirk was a white man while Uhura was a Black woman. This, NBC insisted, would cause too much controversy, particularly in the South.
