On March 8th, 2013 during a taping of the Dutch television show College Tour, Whoopi Goldberg spoke about her feelings on what her role as Guinan on Star Trek the Next Generation meant for the representation of black people, but before she could finish, a clearly nervous man stood up and said something that brought her to tears.
After struggling with mild autism his entire life, the emotional man let Whoopi Goldberg know that her role as Guinan on Star Trek the Next Generation changed his life.
“You were saying that your roles don’t have big impacts,” the man said “and I want to tell you they have.”
“Your role in Star Trek as Guinan” he continued “was a great example ? and I discovered Star Trek through your role and joined a Star Trek fan club, and at the fan club I learned socially how to cope with the difficult things in someone, and now I’m standing here and I’m married. ?It’s just a fantastic thing that can be impacted by one role, and you did that.”
For just a moment, there was a stunned silence that fell over the entire studio, the look of amazement and awe that took over Whoopi Goldberg’s face was near heartbreaking, and then the studio erupted in applause and cheering.
As anyone can imagine, what the audience member said brought Whoopi out of her chair and right into the audience to hug the man who had just delivered one of the most important affirmations of her entire career. ?Whoopi embraced the man, kissed his forehead and thanked him for what he had just said.
When Whoopi returned to the stage, it was then that the accomplished actress lost her composure and was overcome with emotion. ?All she could get say to the man was a simple “thank you”, but the moment became even more powerful when he asked her a simple question.
“Does this happen a lot actually?” the man asked.
In a whisper, Whoopi replied “Not like that.”
What a truly powerful moment. Watch below.
