George Takei speaks out about 'feud' with William Shatner

NEW YORK, June 18 (UPI) -- George Takei said the feud allegedly propagated by former Star Trek co-star William Shatner is unfounded.

Takei, creator of upcoming Broadway musical Allegiance, said that whatever may seem like tension between the two actors isn't the case. "It's all coming from Bill," he told the New York Times. "Whenever he needs a little publicity for a project, he pumps up the so-called controversy between us."

Shatner uploaded a series of interviews on YouTube in which he said he was intentionally not invited to Takei's 2008 wedding to Brad Altman. "George has been mean to me for a long time," Shatner said in an upload that year. "But now with access to more people he continues to be mean and I don't know why."

Takei, now 78, said that Shatner's accusation was a publicity stunt to draw attention to his then upcoming talk show, Raw Nerve. Still, Takei admits it wasn't pleasant working with Shatner on the set of Star Trek. "It's difficult working with someone who is not a team player. The rest of the cast all understand what makes a scene work -- it's everybody contributing to it," he said.

"But Bill is a wonderful actor, and he knows it, and he likes to have the camera on him all the time," he added.

The actor, author, activist and Broadway director doesn't believe he needs to forgive Shatner for "pumping" up their supposedly non-existent feud. "I've already invited him to the opening night of Allegiance," he said.