William Shatner pays tribute to Leonard Nimoy, responds to backlash over missing funeral

William Shatner was not able to make it to Leonard Nimoy’s funeral in Los Angeles on Sunday, which sparked a backlash on Twitter. Shatner did his best to calm the Internet anger, responding to tweets directly and sharing more memories of his good friend and Star Trek co-star.

The actor, who played Captain Kirk alongside Nimoy’s Spock, wrote on Saturday that he felt “really awful” about not being able to make it across the country for the funeral. He had already committed to attending a Red Cross Ball in Florida and could not make it to Los Angeles by Sunday morning.

Of course, that left many angry, with some wondering why someone of Shatner’s stature couldn’t just charter a flight to LAX. But Shatner was ready for the critics, even sharing the New York Daily News’ “Captain Jerk!” headline. “I want to share this. Let’s discuss it,” he wrote.

“I chose to honor a commitment I made months ago to appear at a charitable fundraiser. A lot of money was raised. So here I am; tell me off,” Shatner later added.

Shatner proved that he really cared about Nimoy by answering fans’ questions about their relationship. No question was off limits. Here’s some of the responses:

While Shatner himself was unable to attend, he said that his daughters, Melanie and Lisabeth, did go to the funeral.

Nimoy died on Friday at age 83.

image courtesy of Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com