Star Trek: Discovery star Mary Wiseman comes out as queer
Wiseman, who plays Ensign Sylvia Tilly, said she has "dated and loved people of all genders"
Star Trek: Discovery continues to be one of the most LGBTQ-inclusive shows on television with the news that star Mary Wiseman is “queer and proud.”
Wiseman, who portrays Ensign Sylvia Tilly on the CBS All Access show, confirmed her LGBTQ status in an interview with trailblazing transgender journalist Dawn Ennis.
Ennis had originally interviewed Wiseman for Forbes.com in December and during their discussion they noted that several of the Discovery cast and crew are LGBTQ, including Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Tig Notaro, Blue del Barrio, Ian Alexander, and co-creator Bryan Fuller.
Related: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ makes history with first trans and non-binary characters
However, a “Zoom hiccup” led to Wiseman’s audio cutting out while she said something about the LGBTQ cast members, which fans later interpreted as “I’m not straight.”
Writing on StarTrek.com, Ennis said that she went back to Wiseman to ask if the lip-reading was correct.
“I did say this! It’s not a big deal at all,” Wiseman responded. “I just didn’t want to say I’m straight when I’m not!”
Wiseman said that before marrying her husband Noah Averbach-Katz, she had “dated and loved people of all genders,” but intentionally didn’t put herself at the forefront of discussions about Discovery‘s LGBTQ cast.
“I never liked it when straight-presenting women dominated conversations about bisexuality/pansexuality when I was with women, so I try not to do it now,” she said, “but I also don’t want it to feel like I’m hiding anything because I’m queer and proud!”
During their original Forbes interview, Wiseman and Ennis discussed the body-shaming she has endured from some during Discovery‘s third season.
“I noticed there’s definitely been an uptick in body-shaming towards me and Tilly this season, which was harrowing because I’m a person, I have a history and bullying is totally a part of that,” Wiseman said. “So it has been hard, and it’s really hard to avoid, because it pops up on all the [social media] accounts, or people comment on my posts with cruel, unscientific comments.”
However, she had a message to those who had reached out to her and were “struggling with feeling like they don’t belong because they’ve been told their bodies aren’t right in some way.”
“I just want to say, ‘I love you, all of you, and you’re perfect as designed,’” Wiseman said. “There’s no question, and there’s no criticism, because this is what is. All of us deserve to occupy space, whether it’s at work or out in public or on a fucking starship.”
She continued: “I’m proud to be here and I am proud to wear my skin-tight costume and proud of my body. And I belong.”
Watch Ennis’ interview with Wiseman below:
Star Trek: Discovery recently wrapped its third season. All episodes are available to stream now on CBS All Access.
Related:
Bold Frontiers: Wilson Cruz talks Star Trek Discovery, Anthony Rapp
Wilson Cruz to homophobic Star Trek viewers: “I’m not here for your comfort”
Anthony Rapp sues Kevin Spacey for sexual misconduct over alleged 1980s assault
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