Star Trek: Discovery actress Mary Wiseman, who plays First Officer/Ensign Sylvia Tilly on the CBS All Access original series, has officially and publicly come out as “queer and proud.”
Questions surrounding Wiseman’s sexuality first surfaced last month following a December 17th, 2020 interview conducted by journalist Dawn Ennis with the actress for Forbes.
At one point during the interview, in reference to the number of LGBT+ individuals included on the cast and on screen, Ennis makes a joking comment towards the producers of Star Trek: Discovery that it was “nice that you also let the straight people be a part of Star Trek.”
In response, Wiseman appears to jovially reply that, “I’m not straight,” though a hiccup in the call’s audio caused the actress to be temporarily muted, leaving fans unsure of exactly what Wiseman said.
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On January 14th, the official Star Trek website published a series of short follow-up interviews Ennis had done with members of the Star Trek: Discovery cast that she had previously spoken to, including Wiseman.
When speaking to Wiseman, Ennis followed up on the actress’ apparent coming out, asking “I’m pretty sure you say, ‘I’m not straight’? Is my lip reading off?”, to which the actress confidently declared “I did say this! It’s not a big deal at all.”
“I just didn’t want to say I’m straight when I’m not!,” stated Wiseman. “Before Noah [Averbach-Katz, Wiseman’s husband who played Ryn the Andorian on Star Trek: Discovery], I dated and loved people of all genders. I never liked it when straight-presenting women dominated conversations about bisexuality/pansexuality when I was with women.”
According to Ennis’ first interview with the Star Trek: Discovery star, Wiseman and Averbach-Katz married in March 2019.
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“So I try not to do it now,” Wiseman concluded. “But I also don’t want it to feel like I’m hiding anything because I’m queer and proud!”
Though Wiseman is the latest Star Trek: Discovery cast member to come out publicly, she’s far from the first, as co-creator Bryan Fuller (gay) and actors Ian Alexander (transgender/non-binary), Blu Del Barrio (non-binary), Wilson Cruz (gay), and Anthony Rapp (queer), all identify as members of the LGBT+ community.
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Additionally, Star Trek: Discovery features Rapp and Cruz’s characters, Lieutenant Commander Paul Stamets and Lieutenant Commander Hugh Culber, as the married, same-sex, and adoptive parents of Del Barrio’s non-binary Adira Tal. Gray Tal, as portrayed by Alexander, also identifies as transgender.
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