Star Trek legend Nichelle Nicoles, who played Lieutenant Nyota Uhura and was the first actress to perform an interracial kiss on screen, was caught on video in a fight with her son, Kyle Johnson, over her estate.
In the video captured by CBS46 in Atlanta, the legendary actress, now 86 and suffering from dementia, can be seen repeatedly shouting, “No!”At one point in the video, a woman believed to be Nicoles can be heard shouting, “You’re trying to get rid of me.”
The 86-year-old actress’ battle with dementia was made public last August. TMZ reported that documents filed in Nichelle’s conservatorship indicated she had been the patient of Dr. Meena Makhijani for the last 2-3 years. Those documents stated she had “moderate progressive dementia.” She had previously suffered a stroke in her home in 2015.
The video, which was recorded on April 23rd, was provided to CBS46 by an alleged close friend and Nicoles’ manager, Gilbert Bell.
On the video you can hear Nicoles say, “I’m the boss of me, Gil. He’s not the boss of me.” Gil responds, “Yes, he is.” Nicoles then states, “No, he isn’t.” Nicoles would continue, “I didn’t give permission to have conservatorship over me. I didn’t know what he was doing.”
Kyle Johnson can be seen coming into the room attempting to take his mother home. He can be heard telling her, “Mother, we are going home.” Nicoles then starts to yell “Help! No! No! No!” She states, “Get your hands off me … You’re trying to get rid of me.”
Speaking to the local news station, Johnson claims that his mother does not have a manager, but he declined to refute both the allegations leveled against him or what is inferred in the recording.
Nicoles’ Star Trek:The Original Series co-star William Shatner took to Twitter to comment about the video.
Shatner stated, “Regarding Nichelle: I am saddened by the video but as much as I want to scream; she is victim of the courts making a decision. It needs to be revisited at that level and safeguards put in place to do random checks on her wellbeing by licensed experts.”
Regarding Nichelle: I am saddened by the video but as much as I want to scream; she is the victim of the courts making a decision. It needs to be revisited at that level and safeguards put in place to do random checks on her wellbeing by licensed experts.
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) May 29, 2019
What do you think of Nichelle Nicoles case? Has the court system failed the actress?