George Takei Uses a Ghostwriter on Facebook

With about 4.2 million "likes," George Takei is one of the most popular celebrities who maintains a Facebook account. But fans were disappointed to learn recently that many of Takei's witty posts are the work of ghostwriters.

The news broke when comedian Rick Polito let slip in an interview with media analyst Jim Romenesko that he gets paid $10 a post to write for Takei's Facebook. The reaction from Takei's fans, via Twitter and other forms of social media, ranged from disappointed to outraged.

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But Takei himself brushed off the "scandal."

"What is this hoo-ha about my FB posts?" he wrote in an email to Wired. "I have Brad [Altman], my husband, to help me and interns to assist. What is important is the reliability of my posts being there to greet my fans with a smile or a giggle every morning. That's how we keep on growing."

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If he's traveling, Takei added, the team will post witty photo captions and observations that Takei has previously written. "The commentaries are mine," he told Wired. "They are authentically mine, I assure you."

Polito has since said that he apologized to Takei and Altman for spilling the beans.

Are you disappointed to learn that George Takei doesn't write all his own Facebook posts?