Star Trek: Discovery’s Mary Wiseman confirms she is “queer and proud”
"Unification III" -- Ep#307 -- Pictured: Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. Photo Cr: Michael Gibson/CBS ©2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
JANUARY 14, 2021 - Star Trek: Discovery actor Mary Wiseman has confirmed that she is “queer and proud”.
The remarks came from an interview with Dawn Ennis, or rather, from a follow-up to an interview with Dawn Ennis. Back in December, Ennis published an interview with Wiseman over on Forbes.com where, among other things, they discussed Wiseman’s reaction to people body-shaming her or her Discovery character, Ensign Sylvia Tilly.
Now, in a piece on StarTrek.com, Ennis recounts that a “Zoom hiccup” in that interview caused Wiseman’s sound to go out just as Ennis mentioned that many of her co-stars were members of the LGBTQ community. An eagle-eyed viewer thought Wiseman (in the silence) might have been saying, “I’m not straight”, which prompted Ennis to follow up.
In the StarTrek.com piece, Ennis went on to share that in a Twitter DM, Wiseman confirmed she did - in fact - say just that. Wiseman explained, “I just didn’t want to say I’m straight when I’m not!” Prior to her marriage to Discovery co-star Noah Averbach-Katz, Wiseman said that she “dated and loved people of all genders.”
Wiseman also clarified why she keeps fairly quiet about the topic, saying, “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, but I also don’t want it to feel like I’m hiding anything because I’m queer and proud!”
My very first story for https://t.co/fPHkr2thNh!
— Dawn Ennis, BFA (@lifeafterdawn) January 14, 2021
In which @may_wise confirms she's queer...@N_A_K accepts the death of his character@albinokid reveals his bond with #BluDelBarrio...@ianaIexander has advice for young actors...
AND MORE!https://t.co/doIEAgsR6e
The rest of Ennis’ article features more great conversations with Star Trek: Discovery personalities, including Wiseman’s views on whether Tilly could be on the autism spectrum, as well as Anthony Rapp’s thoughts on being a leading gay man, and Blu del Barrio and Ian Alexander’s experiences as Star Trek’s first non-binary and transgender characters. You can read all of that now at StarTrek.com.
And of course, be sure to catch the whole cast of Star Trek: Discovery, in seasons 1 - 3, now streaming on CBS All Access.
Chris Peterson is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. An outdoor enthusiast and a fan of film and literature, he is also an actor, singer and musician with stage credits including CATS, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rocky Horror Show and The Producers.
