Actor William Shatner got into a heated Twitter battle with some Millennials users, which began over the usage of the term “OK Boomer” — a put-down that has become popular among Millennials and Generation Z to express their irritation with Baby Boomers.
“Sweetheart, that’s a compliment for me,” reacted Shatner on Wednesday, in response to a Twitter user named Billie E., who tweeted the “OK Boomer” catchphrase at him.
The 88-year-old Star Trek actor is not a member of the Baby Boomer generation, but rather, the Silent Generation, who were born roughly between the years 1928 and 1945.
The tweet apparently triggered a portion of Shatner’s own followers, as he was then bombarded by tweets, which caused the actor to get caught up in a generational debate.
“I’m not really into pejoratives, but what’s the term for people when they can’t interpret a joke?” responded Billie E., defending herself.
“Millennial?” quipped Shatner in response to Billie E.’s question.
“Already sick of this ‘ok Boomer’ nonsense,” interjected another Twitter user. “You always handle it tho, don’t you?”
“I feel it’s like one of those childish insults in fandom that seem to affect the delicate types to the point they meltdown & go over the rest of our heads as something ridiculous,” responded William Shatner. “If the person posting it thinks they are making a dig; they are the fools.”
Then, an apparent fellow member of an older generation chimed in to support Shatner’s assessment. “These brats think nothing happened or matters before they disgraced us with their entitled presence,” said the Twitter user.
“And this is why you guys hear ‘ok, boomer.’ It’s not for the boomers that understand shit. It’s for the ignorant ones like you,” retorted another user named Courtney DeCamp, which prompted Shatner to react.
“And just what are we ignorant about Courtney?” the actor inquired. “We don’t understand struggles? War? Depressions (economic not personal)? Inflation? Double digit Prime Interest rates?”
DeCamp responded by blaming her generation’s alleged “hardships” on the previous generations.
“I wouldn’t think you’d be one of the ignorant ones, but ok,” she said. “It’s for the boomers who don’t realize that the hardships that the millennials inherited are not their fault. That these kids are trying to survive a world that has all but been destroyed and that doesn’t make them lazy.”
“And the meek shall inherit,” said Shatner, “is that all your generation does is point fingers and blame others for their pity parties? You don’t get a participation trophy for life; you take what you get and play your best hand. It’s been that way since forever.”
The actor went on to refer to DeCamp as “divaesque” — as in to suggest a “diva.”
“Her bio says she’s an actress,” said Shatner. “No production wants someone who blames their situation on everyone else. That’s Divaesque. She [is] entitled to her opinion but she isn’t doing herself any favors by pretending she’s siding with millennials while pretending she’s not one.”
The argument then segued into a debate about the generation of which DeCamp is a member.
“I’m not a millennial,” insisted DeCamp.
“Courtney you graduated HS in 2003 that puts your birthday in the years that define millennials,” Shatner responded. “Are you ashamed to be one?”
When DeCamp responded by suggesting that she may be a member of Generation X, rather than a Millennial, the actor noted that being born in “1985 still makes you a millennial.”
“Seems like you are trying to pretend you agree with them but are part of some other group,” he added. “Yet you are, by the year of birth — a millennial.”
“And if that’s the case, then cool. I’ll take the millennial title,” said DeCamp, conceding to Shatner’s point. “That aside, if you are not a boomer as you say, why are you so offended by a phrase that can’t possibly pertain to you?”
“Unlike you,” said Shatner, “the generations designation doesn’t define me nor am I too worried about getting labeled because it makes no difference to me.”
“You seemed to be obsessed,” he added, “blaming other gens. Some millennials are pushing 40. You aren’t kids.”
Wednesday’s debate carried into Thursday morning as Shatner continued the debate with other users on Twitter.
“When you have a generation that uses terms like ‘OK Boomer’ and complains that they inherited a flawed world and blame and whine about the past generations for not giving them a perfect world; there’s no inclusivity happening there. That’s what started this current conversation,” said Shatner on Thursday.
“And this is how presentism manifests itself,” said the actor to another user on Twitter. “Someone making a decision for others as to what they think may happen if someone discovers reading a book that people in 1870 used hatred to fear others in a culture that was different from theirs.”
The condescending “OK Boomer” gibe recently received even more attention after a 25-year-old New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament (MP) Chloe Swarbrick, used it to dismiss a fellow MP while she delivered a speech on the topic of climate change.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.