Yesterday, Star Trek fans and science-loving human beings collective set their phasers to Whaaaaaaaaa?!? after the trailer for the new pseudo-science documentary The Principle dropped and seemed to feature Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway) supporting a theory that the Earth is at the center of the Universe. In response, the actress, who also stars on Orange Is The New Black, went radio silent, but upon further review, she’s decided to offer up an official statement. It turns out, like an overwhelming majority of people with common sense, she believes the Earth revolves around the sun.
Speaking on her official Facebook account, Mulgrew told the world she boarded the project for the paycheck and was completely duped as to what its intentions were. You can check out her entire quote below…
"I understand there has been some controversy about my participation in a documentary called THE PRINCIPLE. Let me assure everyone that I completely agree with the eminent physicist Lawrence Krauss, who was himself misrepresented in the film, and who has written a succinct rebuttal in SLATE. I am not a geocentrist, nor am I in any way a proponent of geocentrism. More importantly, I do not subscribe to anything Robert Sungenis has written regarding science and history and, had I known of his involvement, would most certainly have avoided this documentary. I was a voice for hire, and a misinformed one, at that. I apologize for any confusion that my voice on this trailer may have caused. Kate Mulgrew"
Captain Janeway might not be the most popular character in the history of Star Trek, but I think I speak for most people when I say "Thank God." The entire point of that franchise is to ask interesting questions about the universe, space, aliens, future technological advancements and complex ethics, and the thought of one of its stars wanting to recycle a debate that was settled centuries ago is enough to turn one’s stomach.
Still, tricked or not, this movie is out there now, or at least will be soon. I can’t imagine it will make a huge dent at the box office, but stranger things have happened to documentaries that have positioned themselves correctly from a marketing standpoint at exactly the right moment. Regardless, here’s to hoping good old fashioned science continues to win out over biased hogwash.
