Mashable Just Learned a Basic Rule of Twitter: Cross William Shatner at Your Own Risk
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The first rule of tweeting about William Shatner is to assume your tweet will be read by William Shatner. Which is great, unless he’s not happy with what he reads.
(Trust us, we’ve been there.)
Mashable fell into Captain Kirk’s crosshairs this afternoon after posting a tweet calling the actor a “teen girl” for asking Justin Bieber to follow him on Twitter.
Shatner’s brief Twitter conversation with Bieber was more likely tied to Shatner’s vocal involvement in the massive charity scavenger hunt GISHWES (The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt The World Has Ever Seen, hosted by Supernatural actor Misha Collins) than to some random budding bromance.
But Mashable, seemingly unaware of the context of the tweets, instead chalked it up to Canadian solidarity or guessed “he just wanted to make a bunch of teenagers jealous.” Shatner took issue with the story’s headline and tweet, calling out editor-at-large Lance Ulanoff.
Here’s how it all played out:
@justinbieber Can you follow me for a moment?
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) August 2, 2015
@WilliamShatner followed
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 2, 2015
@justinbieber I sent you a DM
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) August 2, 2015
Happy to help @WilliamShatner . I love Supernatural for #TeamShatner
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 2, 2015
Teen girl William Shatner asked Justin Bieber to follow him on Twitter: http://t.co/MKmJQkMH5L pic.twitter.com/2uUTwqC55i
— Mashable (@mashable) August 3, 2015
@LanceUlanoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/uOl4CM1nCy
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) August 3, 2015
@WilliamShatner Do not look at me. I did NOT write that headline. I will find who did and mail them to you.
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) August 3, 2015
@WilliamShatner I am mostly just muck. Never saw this, do not condone anyone calling my idol a “teen girl.”
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) August 3, 2015
@LanceUlanoff It’s childish and worthy of the yellow journalism of Buzzkill or the Dailyditz!
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) August 3, 2015
@mashable Mr. Shatner did this for @gishwhes, an international scavenger hunt!
— Jams!DestiHellYeahs (@jammyjam25) August 3, 2015
@mashable It was for charity. Please do your research. @gishwhes @RandomActsOrg
— GishEmily (@healingmachine) August 3, 2015
@WilliamShatner The team assures me it was done with a wink and lots of love. No offense was intended.
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) August 3, 2015
#TeamJudas https://t.co/qTwbWu85Tt
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) August 3, 2015
@WilliamShatner OKay, go ahead and send me the Red Shirt. I will take one for the team.
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) August 3, 2015
Remember that song, “I always feel like, somebody’s watching me, and I get no privacy…?” Well, stop inviting people to watch you, and maybe they will. George Orwell’s 1984 has gotten a little too close for comfort these days, except that big brother is not the government or the media, it’s “We, the People.” 
