STAR TREK legend LEONARD NIMOY laid to rest as WILLIAM SHATNER is viciously attacked online for attending charity event instead as he jets back to LA – too late.
Famed for playing Captain Kirk on the classic Star Trek series William Shatner was pilloried online for missing the funeral of his longtime costar and pal Mr. Spock Leonard Nimoy on Sunday.
Shatner, 83, was unable to attend the Los Angeles ceremony on Sunday morning, which started two hours before he flew home from a pre-scheduled Red Cross charity event in Florida.
But despite tweeting tributes to Nimoy, Shatner became the target of online haters.
At the core of the hate was an inflammatory New York Daily News front page which had denounced him as “Captain Jerk”.
Shatner explained via Twitter that his two daughters would be attending the Jewish last rites in his stead.
Family and close friends of Nimoy gathered at 9am on Sunday to pay their respects after he passed away at his Bel Air, Los Angeles, home on Friday.
According to Jewish tradition, the dead must be buried within 24 hours but as the practice is forbidden on the high holiday day Nimoy was laid to rest Sunday around 9 AM PST.
Shatner posted a distraught message on Twitter on Saturday saying: 'I am currently in FL [Florida] as I agreed to appear at the Red Cross Ball tonight. Leonard's funeral is tomorrow. I can't make it back in time.
Along with Wayne Newton and Shirley McLaine, Shatner raised over $200,00 for the Red Cross at the charity fundraiser at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago which provides help in times of catastrophic disaster.
Shatner urged fans around the world and in space to share their love of Nimoy in an online memorial. And they did.
After hosting a memorial via Twitter Shatner arrived back in LA around 1130 am but had missed the funeral by a couple of hours. He was airborne during the service.
Shatner, reportedly worth about 100 million, defended his heart-breaking dilemma by pointing out the lack of early morning flights to California from Florida.
“One of the other misconceptions seems to be that folks think flights to LAX occur all night long,” he tweeted.
After another round of viciousness, Shatner simply Tweeted Sunday night, “Gang, all haters do is hate”.
