'Star Trek' actor calls Supreme Court Justice Thomas a 'clown in blackface'

By Elizabeth Potter, Elizabeth Potter

Published December 20, 2015

"Star Trek" actor George Takei called Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas a "clown in blackface" for dissenting from the high court's ruling on gay marriage last Friday, a local Fox affiliate in Phoenix reported.

"He is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court. He gets me that angry," Takei said.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to legalize gay marriage across all 50 states. In his dissent, he said human dignity is innate to all people.

"The corollary of that principle is that human dignity cannot be taken away by the government. Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved. Those held in internment camps did not lose their dignity because the government confined them. And those denied governmental benefits certainly do not lose their dignity because the government denies them those benefits. The government cannot bestow dignity, and it cannot take it away."