# Captain Kirk Hit with $170-Million Paternity Suit **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679 "2016-03-30T23:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/1 "2016-03-30T23:56:11Z")
Story [here](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/30/entertainment/william-shatner-paternity-suit-feat/index.html). I believe Shatner is not the father, because … wait for it … he only ever went where no man went before. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/2 "2016-03-30T23:58:03Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Story [here](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/30/entertainment/william-shatner-paternity-suit-feat/index.html). > > I believe Shatner is not the father, because … wait for it … he only ever went where no man went before. That was only a five year mission though. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/3 "2016-03-31T01:01:33Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > That was only a five year mission though. Yeah, you should seen the shit he did after that. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/4 "2016-03-31T01:52:33Z")
Call me naive, but I don’t understand how there can even be a dispute about paternity nowadays. Someone says you’re their father, you say you’re not, a DNA test settles the question with 99.9+% accuracy. Why the tsuris? ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/5 "2016-03-31T01:56:12Z")
some places like France have banned paternity tests because they’re misogynistic how dare you accuse a female of lying! ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/6 "2016-03-31T02:07:57Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > some places like France have banned paternity tests because they’re misogynistic > > how dare you accuse a female of lying! Not in court, though. Only independent, private tests have been banned under the idea of “keeping the peace”, whatever that means. In this case, more probably it’s the Shatner side the one refusing to go through it. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/7 "2016-03-31T02:10:27Z")
I just hope this kid won’t eventually be a real cling-on. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/8 "2016-03-31T02:16:44Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I believe Shatner is not the father, because … wait for it … he only ever went where no man went before. That doesn’t even make sense. That just means he only slept with virgins. (and if they did get pregnant, it would certainly be his :p) ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/9 "2016-03-31T02:29:56Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > That doesn’t even make sense. That just means he only slept with virgins. (and if they did get pregnant, it would certainly be his :p) “That’d be the butt, Bob” ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/10 "2016-03-31T02:35:29Z")
I. Did. Not. Have. Sexual. Relations. With. That. Woman. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/11 "2016-03-31T02:36:48Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > That doesn’t even make sense. That just means he only slept with virgins. (and if they did get pregnant, it would certainly be his :p) The allegation is that he had an affair. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/12 "2016-03-31T02:55:39Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > some places like France have banned paternity tests because they’re misogynistic > > how dare you accuse a female of lying! No, that’s not the reason private paternity testing is banned in France. The French have no problem with acknowledging that sometimes women lie, or with allowing individual men to accuse individual women of lying. The ban is based in the (IMO dubious) position that family relations are determined socially rather than biologically, so a man who voluntarily undertakes a paternal relationship with a child should not subsequently undermine it by questioning the child’s biological parentage. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/13 "2016-03-31T03:04:10Z")
By the way, of course it’s still perfectly legal to **contest** paternity in France, and the courts will order a paternity test to resolve the dispute. What’s banned is surreptitious private testing without the formal consent of one or more of the individuals being tested. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/14 "2016-03-31T03:19:51Z")
He was given up for adoption. How does that even work? Anyone who gives a baby up for adoption can tracked down and sued? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/15 "2016-03-31T03:24:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > He was given up for adoption. How does that even work? Anyone who gives a baby up for adoption can tracked down and sued? Yeah, this suit should be dismissed on that basis alone. Once he was adopted, all rights and responsibilities of his birth parents were terminated. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/16 "2016-03-31T03:31:29Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > Yeah, this suit should be dismissed on that basis alone. Once he was adopted, all rights and responsibilities of his birth parents were terminated. Agree. Unless the birth parents have deep pockets, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/17 "2016-03-31T04:35:24Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > Yeah, this suit should be dismissed on that basis alone. Once he was adopted, all rights and responsibilities of his birth parents were terminated. Even if the child was born out of wedlock and the father never acknowledged him? ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/18 "2016-03-31T04:45:18Z")
I don’t think anyone, including the OP, has actually read the article. This is not a paternity suit. The guy is suing because Shatner was mean to him on Facebook and Twitter. $170 million dollars worth of mean. ☹ > [@](#): > > Sloan alleges that Shatner’s social media director posted “malicious, libelous and slanderous statements about the Plaintiff (Sloan) on Facebook and Twitter.” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/19 "2016-03-31T04:52:15Z")
I scanned the complaint that was linked in one of the articles. It’s a pro se suit–meaning that the guy that filed it doesn’t have a lawyer. I suspect it may not survive a motion to dismiss. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679/20 "2016-03-31T07:27:21Z")
“Florida-based radio host” why does that short description explain everything to me, hmm? Also, “Peter.” Lame. He can change both names at the same time, should’ve gone with “KHAAAAAAAN Shatner” (sic). > [@Kimstu](#): > > The ban is based in the (IMO dubious) position that family relations are determined socially rather than biologically, so a man who voluntarily undertakes a paternal relationship with a child should not subsequently undermine it by questioning the child’s biological parentage. But isn’t that pretty much the rule in most other countries like the US (allowing for 50 states with different laws)? After some specific point, biological parentage doesn’t matter. Waited until your kid was 10 to test the genetics and found out it’s not yours? Tough shit, you’re the father. > [@Oakminster](#): > > I scanned the complaint that was linked in one of the articles. It’s a pro se suit–meaning that the guy that filed it doesn’t have a lawyer. I suspect it may not survive a motion to dismiss. How dare you slander him! You’ll hear from his lawyer! If someone wants to correct me and say that it’s libel, then you just ruined the joke. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/captain-kirk-hit-with-170-million-paternity-suit/750679.md?page=2)