Just when you think Stacey Abrams can’t get any cooler, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia announced Thursday that she made a cameo in the final minutes of the Season 4 finale of Star Trek: Discovery.
According to The Washington Post, in the episode Abrams can be seen walking off a spaceship with a cape over her shoulders. She is then greeted as “Madam President.”
As president of a planetary state known as United Earth, Abrams agrees to rejoin an interstellar alliance that United Earth had previously broken away from. The episode then ends with Abrams telling the show’s main character, Capt. Michael Burnham: “There’s a lot of work to do. Are you ready for that?”
Seeing as Abrams told FiveThirtyEight in January 2020 that she would be president of the U.S. by 2040, the segment was even more exciting. Like a preview of what boss energy is about to come.
“I’m still floored when I think about Stacey gracing us with her presence in our Season 4 finale,” actor Sonequa Martin-Green told Deadline. “We spent so much of our time fanning out and pretending to be cool in her midst,” the Walking Dead alum reveals of herself and cast mates Horsdal, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala, Blu del Barrio, and Ian Alexander.
“She’s a legend in the making and a civil hero, and she was an absolute delight to work with,” Martin-Green added. “She wowed us with her charm, humility, and generosity, and she whipped out some acting chops too! It was an honor for me as a Black woman to stand with her in the story. It’s an experience I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.” Martin-Green broke barriers herself as the first Black female Star Trek captain.
Of course, Abrams is also a long-time Star Trek fan, which made her appearance even more meaningful. According to The New York Times, Abrams has “seen every iteration of ‘Star Trek’ and can recite with picayune detail the obscure plot points from incidents buried deep in the canon.” She even used scenes from Star Trek to depict her problem-solving strategies in her book, Lead From the Outside.
Because of her love for the show, Abrams quickly agreed to be a part of it, but under one condition: No spoilers. She only wanted to know what was necessary for her to complete her scene.
“She was very specific about that,” Michelle Paradise, the show’s executive producer, told Variety. “She wanted to be able to just watch it and enjoy when the show finally came out. So, yeah, we avoided all the spoilers.”
But on the real, Abrams is super cool. Did you know she has written eight romance novels? Not to mention she has started several small businesses.
“There’s just something that made us think, ‘Well, of course she can do it,’” Paradise told Variety, noting her prior experience in plays. “And she did. She just blew us away.”
Paradise also told IndieWire that she is still in awe of Abrams' appearance and “would love” to see her on another episode.