'Star Trek: Discovery' Stars Honored At National LGBTQ Task Force Gala In Miami Beach
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Two actors from the CBS All Access original series "Star Trek: Discovery" were recognized Saturday night for going where no men have gone before.
On this newest, award-winning Star Trek series, actors Wilson Cruz and Anthony Rapp are breaking new ground. They are playing the first openly gay couple in the Star Trek universe.
On Saturday night, their contribution to expanding the human rights of all those in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities was recognized at the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach.
The actors reinforced the importance of raising the visibility of those in their community, in all aspects of society, including on television. And what better vehicle, they say, than Star Trek.
"Star Trek has always presented a vision of the future where the things that have divided us as people over the centuries – race, gender, sexual orientation, age, color, all of that – none of that matters in Star Fleet," Rapp said. "It's solely about who you are as a human being and what you are inside that matters."
Cruz, who once actually worked for the task force... Fighting to keep the human rights ordinance in Miami-Dade is especially honored to receive this recognition.
"To be honored by the task force for my work as an actor and as an activist is incredibly moving to me," Cruz said. "I know the hard work this organization does on the ground, in the grassroots, on the state level, on the city level, on the municipal level, so it's incredibly moving."
It's also moving for Rapp, who knows firsthand the value of real world role models. He's hoping that his on-screen pairing with Cruz will encourage other LGBTQ actors to live openly and pursue roles that were once only a pipedream.
"I'm standing on the shoulders of all the people who early on broke down those barriers," Rapp said. "I continue to try to do my part to be visible and out as a way to show that if you're going to hold notions about people, if you're visible and out it becomes very hard to maintain those kinds of prejudices I think."
The gala was entitled "50 Years of Fierce" and it celebrated the half century the national task force has been fighting for the rights of this community.
