George Takei and Howard Stern's strange and wonderful history

Hank Azaria may have his problems with George Takei, but Gay.com's Jenny Stewart points out that Howard Stern hasn't shied away from the actor after coming out.

Stewart explores Takei's history with Stern's radio show, a history that started with an interview Takei did in the early '90s. During the interview, Takei uttered an "Oh, my." in his deep and unique voice. Takei's distinct intonation tickled Stern and his producers and those two words from the interview became a sound drop that would be used to punctuate any shocking comments made on the show.

When Takei came out in 2005, Stern's show was part of his media tour. While most post-coming out interviews with Takei was safe and polite, Stern asked the same kind of rude and intrusive questions he's known for asking heterosexual celebrities. Takei discussed his life with an openness and an ability take Stern's ribbing. The interview was a frank discussion of gay sexuality on a show with an audience that doesn't seek to learn about gay experiences... and Stern's audience reacted so positively to the interview that Takei was invited to be a part of Stern's new satellite radio show when it debuted in 2006.

Since then, Takei has been treated like any other participant on the raunchy talk show. One important period came after a segment on the show caused a fight between Takei and his partner, Brad. Stern and crew discussed George and Brad's fight the same as any other couple, putting out a message that George and Brad's relationship was no less valid because they're gay.

The power of Takei's presence on Stern's show is that he's reaching an audience that isn't exposed to gay people in most of their media choices. If Stern weren't as powerful a talent, he'd probably be fighting with a marketing executive insisting that Stern's audience would desert the show if the continued to hear about a gay man's experiences. Instead, Stern is showing his audience that a gay man can be a part of the gang.

I remember watching Stern when E! first attempted to put Stern's radio show on TV and his relationship with Takei doesn't surprise me. Back in the mid 90's Stern had no problem discussing gay life with a gay intern. Back then, gay media wasn't so easy to find and I learned a lot about gay culture from watching Stern's show -- while I was still getting comfortable accepting who I was, Stern's show was one place where I felt safe learning about being gay while sitting in the lounge of a college dormitory.