I Can’t Believe This Is What Is Getting Right Wing Weirdos Mad About ‘Starfleet Academy’

Starfleet Academyas with any new entry to Star Trek canon – especially one that was hated upon release only to eventually become a firm fan favorite – has its fair share of controversy when it comes to its approach to the broader series. Some of this is in its nature as a successor to Star Trek: Discoverya series that has weathered its fair share of controversy over the years. Some of this is the point of the show itself, which sometimes seems to delight in a young adult perspective, giving it the opportunity to bite the proverbial thumb into the franchise’s authority, almost tempting detractors into argument.

But some of this is because people are just too stupid, and sometimes, when those idiots happen to have the attention of the Trump administration and right-wing baits become more culturally lucrative than ever, even the smallest, most surprising points of tension can become the latest salvo in the culture war.

And this has been the case ever since Starfleet AcademyThe first two episodes of the series aired late last week, and above all the buzz of pros and cons discussed around the premiere, one complaint rose above all thanks to it being a tribune by White House adviser and notorious ghoul Stephen Miller. It seems that the issue that upset Miller? There are some Oh, my God Glasses in this Star Trek displays.

The trouble started when Miller took to Twitter to quote a clip of the series from an account called “End Wokeness” (something he likely did), which included a scene from the premiere of Holly Hunter’s captain, Nahla Ackie, wearing thick-rimmed glasses as she talks to her first officer, Laura Thoke (Jenna Yasher), and another member of the academy’s senior staff, Lt. Rourke (Tricia Black).

Miller was initially vague about what particularly bothered him about the scene — maybe the dialogue, maybe it involved several women talking among themselves, who can tell — but he called it tragic, and pleaded that Paramount, now owned by Trump ally David Ellison, should “save” the franchise by relinquishing all creative control to William Shatner.

😳 😱
I’m on the same page with you @Stephen M!
The fact that they didn’t treat hyperopia by the 32nd century is a huge flaw in the book!😤

also @paramountplus Needs to increase budget as I’m sure a well-oiled organization like Starfleet is in the offing… https://t.co/96MtYUGGWf

– William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) January 19, 2026

Shatner’s social media account (it’s long been debated who exactly runs the actor’s account) responded to Miller in turn and seemingly revealed that Miller’s supposed tragedy was Hunter’s choice of glasses. “The fact that they did not treat hyperopia by the 32nd century is a gross oversight of the book,” Shatner’s article reads in part. “Paramount also needs to raise the budget because I’m sure a well-oiled organization like Starfleet in the distant future could provide more than a pair of glasses for at least a hypervisionic bridge crew.”

Miller seemed to ignore that Shatner’s post was clearly laced with sarcasm, as he reposted it and then responded directly with another quote tweet criticizing Kirk’s death in Generations As everyone falls Star Trek. But he did not dispute Shatner’s implication that the so-called “wokeness” on display was related to the presence of spectacles in 32nd-century society.

Obviously, to anyone who has actually watched and interacted with it Star Trek At any given time over the past 60 years, part of the reason for Shatner’s ridicule is that Kirk himself is just one of multiple characters portrayed through reams of… Star Trek The material also wears glasses. Although there are different treatments for visual impairment Star TrekGiven their technological future, glasses were still worn in the 23rd century project The transport technician was seen wearing it in the pilot episode of the original show “The Cage” (and was seen again when footage of the pilot was reused in the two-part “The Menagerie”), as were several other members of project Crew in Animation series.

Kirk himself is known to wear reading glasses Wrath of KhanPointing out that he personally suffered from an allergy to Retinax V, a common medical drug used to correct vision. Recently, before Starfleet Academy He gave them to Captain Aki, and Jean-Luc Picard was wearing reading glasses PicardSeason three and discovery She gives us David Cronenberg’s Kovic, who wore glasses as a fashion statement rather than out of necessity, which could also be the case for Ake (although we see her wearing them to read as well). Other eyewear is also seen throughout the series, from sunglasses to, of course, a Geordie LaForge mask. The next generation.

But none of that is the actual point of right-wing fraud, just as it’s never the point when one of these specific controversies floats to the surface of pop culture toxicity. We’ve seen this cycle across countless movies and TV shows that have enraged their critics by declaring them “woke,” a manufactured shockwave designed to generate a cycle of anger and social media chatter among their followers. The point is not a lack of awareness or knowledge, or that their opinion will change if they get a Wikia page like in their ignorant faces. It’s in publishing, the generation of that hate and attention, before they move on to whatever controversy is coming, like vultures.

Maybe Stephen Miller doesn’t really care about someone wearing glasses Star Trek. He seems to have moved on, looking at his Twitter account, where he now seems busy nodding at someone else star Privilege, protest The Mandalorian“This is the way” slogan he applied to a plan drawn up by Republicans in Tennessee to persecute immigrants. Maybe he’ll come back to complain about something else Starfleet Academy He does in the future. But presentation will not be the goal; That would be because it’s just something he and his ilk in right-wing circles can try to turn into another round of manufactured backlash between the slings and arrows of the culture war.

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