Star Trek's 'Captain Janeway' decries link to biblical geocentrism documentary

When a famous geek icon became associated with a controversial documentary, Internet nerds went from outraged to relieved in a matter of hours.

Actress Kate Mulgrew, best known for her role as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, was reported by many outlets to be lending her voice to a documentary that promotes geocentrism, a view which insists — despite scientific proof to the contrary — that the sun revolves around the Earth rather than vice versa.

The documentary, entitled 'The Principle,' purports to challenge an ostensible implication that humans are 'nothing special' in relation to the vastness of the universe, as established by a NASA-based conspiracy to keep the truth hidden. The trailer opens with a distinctive voice that sounds a lot like Mulgrew, who currently stars on the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, declaring, "Everything we think we know about the universe is wrong." 
 

Much relief was to be had when later in the day, Mulgrew took to her official Facebook page to address her involvement and its relationship to her own scientific and political views. She said:
 
There is still the matter of how Mulgrew got involved in the first place, which she does not address at all in her statement. It is currently supposed that her dialogue was either taken from existing recordings, comparable to the involvement of Krauss or her recordings were conducted in isolation and devoid of context. 

Out of context quotes

Other personalities featured in the documentary are theoretical physicist Michio Kaku and cosmologists Lawrence Krauss and Max Tegmark. Their presence is strange when one considers the contradiction of having scientific luminaries appear in a documentary supporting a fringe viewpoint. Krauss for his part, disowned any consenting involvement in the documentary: 

"I have no recollection of being interviewed for such a film, and of course had I known of its premise I would have refused. So, either the producers used clips of me that were in the public domain, or they bought them from other production companies that I may have given some rights to distribute my interviews to, or they may have interviewed me under false pretenses, in which case I probably signed some release. I simply don’t know."

None of the other supposed interviewees had ever previously espoused support for geocentrism, leading many to wonder if they were quoted out of context—or were completely unaware of the film's use of their footage, as in the cases of Mulgrew and Krauss.

The Principle, set to be released in spring, was bankrolled in part by Robert Sungenis, who maintains an ultra-conservative blog where he denies the Holocaust and expresses anti-Semitic beliefs. Some outlets observed that as an actor, Mulgrew is "not required to make sure [...] her paychecks are coming from factually accurate sources." But for many geeks, there was disappointment that a former member of Starfleet could be less than discerning in her choice of work.

For now, enthusiasts of science fiction and all things sciencey can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Mulgrew does not support a viewpoint that undermines the spirit of scientific advancement and exploration associated with her iconic role as Captain Janeway.

And you definitely don't want to mess with her: