Here at Roarbots HQ, we receive a lot of requests for reviews, write-ups, story ideas, and a myriad of other opportunities for content on this site. A month or so back, I saw one that jumped out from the masses and knew I had to take it. It simply said, “Write up on the GoFundMe for Nichelle Nichols.” I had no idea what was going on, but I certainly knew who Ms. Nichols was, and knew I wanted to know more.

First, some background. I’ve been a practicing lawyer running my own firm for around a decade now. My partner at the firm is a Star Trek fan beyond compare. As in, while working, he keeps Star Trek running essentially on repeat. The Original Series, TNG, DS9, Enterprise, all of it. And he mentioned to me (an uncomfortable number of times) that he developed his first real crush, from which he never seems to have recovered, when he saw Uhura’s costume in the episode “Mirror, Mirror” from the original Star Trek.

So when I heard there was a fundraiser for someone who played a pivotal role in a sci-fi world we both loved, I jumped at the opportunity. Besides, Nichelle Nichols is an American icon.

For those of you too young to know, she was and is a trailblazer in both film and the civil rights movement. During the first year of Star Trek, she considered leaving the show, despite being a featured supporting cast member, but was talked out of it by none other than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her kiss with William Shatner was one of, if not the, first example of an interracial kiss on a scripted television series here in the States.

She was wonderful in all her work. Case in point: her appearance on Heroes was as fantastic as any of her earlier work. She even crossed from sci-fi to actual sci by making herself into a huge influence with NASA in the recruitment of minority and female personnel into the organization. Astronauts like Mae Jemison cite her specifically as a reason they became astronauts.

So with all this knowledge of a person whom I have always thought of so highly rolling around in my head, I began to look into the current legal battle over the affairs of Nichelle Nichols.

Some pertinent background up front: I am a practicing attorney in Mississippi. I do not practice in California. I do handle, however, and am currently handling matters in the realm of Elder Law. Specifically, I often handle cases similar to hers, in which financial matters of a person of advanced age are fought over, in regards to who should care for them. Many of these cases in recent years have become subject to public scrutiny, such as Casey Kasem, Stan Lee, and even Richard Simmons.

Often, it will be between siblings or children or a spouse, and the person, usually of some means, will not be in a position to handle their own affairs any longer. So with this familiarity – but of course a recognition that I’m not licensed in California and did not interview the other party – I will be presenting one side of the story as best as I am able and allow you to make your own decision.

There are articles and interviews from the other side that you’re welcome to look for on your own. I did. And I found all of them, in my personal opinion only, to lack credibility. In the end, the matter is in a court of law, and it will be decided there. So my personal opinion is just that: my opinion and not that of theroarbots.com. I am not offering a professional opinion as an attorney, as the law in CA is not the same as the law in MS. But feel free to read the legal filings or various articles on your own if you’d like to form your own opinion.

The GoFundMe is predominantly aimed at paying legal fees for the pending lawsuit and defense from counterclaims, all in regards to the estate of Ms. Nichelle Nichols. There are a lot of sides to the story, but I chose to base my opinion of it on public records, articles written on the matter, my own experience in litigating similar cases, and most importantly, interviews with Ms. Nichols’s sister, Ms. Marian Smothers, and Ms. Nichols’s son, Kyle Johnson. Both were incredibly gracious to give me a couple hours of their time while putting together this piece. So with all of this said, here’s the story:

Nichelle Nichols was a widely successful actress and American icon for most of her life. However, as tends to happen in Hollywood, acting roles began to lessen with age. In 2010, she met a man named Gilbert Bell who pitched a script to her with a role as a grandmother that, according to Ms. Nichols’s sister, was well written and seemingly a good role. Apparently, Ms. Nichols felt the same and they began shopping it around to people she knew in an attempt to get it sold.

Sometime in or around the period of 2010-2013, Mr. Bell moved into the second house on her property. This fact is not contested by the pleading submitted by either party, and both agree that he lived in the home (and in fact still appears to, as of the last filings… but more on that later). The lease was an amazingly long TEN-YEAR lease, which outside of commercial leases, is, in my experience and likely the experience of anyone who’s ever rented a home, unusually long. Additionally, the rent, according to the family of Ms. Nichols, was set at a shockingly low $300/month, with Ms. Nichols responsible for the utilities, cable, etc.

In 2013, Ms. Nichols had a medical issue that put her in the hospital. During this time, the family met with the doctors, and – according to them – included Mr. Bell in their meeting since he had become a regular in Ms. Nichols life. The doctors informed them that Ms. Nichols had an early stage of dementia and they would need to decide how best to treat her current medical state, as well as plan for the dementia issues that would likely worsen in the coming years. Accordingly, the family was advised to look into short-term rehabilitative facilities. Unfortunately, here’s where things take a turn.

Immediately after that meeting, according to the family, Mr. Bell withdrew Ms. Nichols from the hospital against doctors’ orders. He then went to a lawyer’s office and had paperwork drawn up in which Ms. Nichols gave him power of attorney over her affairs. This appears to be undisputed by the parties, and the date of her leaving the hospital corresponds to the date the the power of attorney was signed.

At this point, the family of Ms. Nichols alleges that Mr. Bell began further insinuating himself into her life and controlling more and more of her affairs. During and subsequent to this time, she made multiple public appearances, attending conventions (and other events), and the family was still in contact with her and Mr. Bell. In fact, Mr. Bell would tell them of the events she was attending and how successful they were in terms of income.

However, they would then be told of how close she was to being destitute, despite these many appearances. Oddly, Mr. Bell, according to the family, would tell them he had this power of attorney but planned and was desirous of having it redone in their names as soon as the family was able to come in person and make a plan to handle her affairs in the long term. During this time, family members visited, and though things appeared fine, none of them was aware of the financial mismanagement they now believe was taking place.

Eventually, Mr. Johnson, her son, came to visit for a few days. Upon discovering that the home had been titled over in the name of Mr. Bell, he filed for a Conservatorship over his mother. Mr. Bell fought this, though it was eventually granted; currently, the lawsuit is ongoing over the lost funds during the time Mr. Bell held the power of attorney over Ms. Nichols.

This is more or less where things currently stand. The GoFundMe was started by the family in order to recoup legal fees and begin to ensure that Ms. Nichols’s needs are met while they attempt to regain the lost funds they believe to have been misappropriated by Mr. Bell. There is an additional named defendant under the name of Angelique Fawcette whom they allege was involved – but to what degree, no one seems certain.

Currently, the GoFundMe sits at a little over $113,000. Notably, the list of larger donors doesn’t seem to include any well-known Star Trek stars, but the family seems to believe they’ll be along soon. Walter Koenig did send a nice message on behalf of the effort, which the family has attached to the post.

So what’s next? Well, the court will be looking at the case as soon as it’s able, which – unlike any episode of Law and Order – will not take place immediately after the previous scene. These things take a lot of time and cost a lot of money. With a pandemic going on, courts have been opening and closing nationwide, putting an added strain on the scheduling and docketing of cases everywhere.

In other words, this case won’t be heard in a trial for a while. Which means the attorneys will be doing everything they can to try to gather as much as they can to force a settlement. This includes, for example, audits of every convention she’s attended and determining how much was made, paying to have an accountant check those audits, and then sending that information to  Mr. Bell’s attorneys to have their client verify or dispute those numbers. And this will be done for every dime she made during that period so they can determine what’s been lost, spent, mismanaged, run away with, and so on.

It’s tedious and expensive work. I’ve done it and literally have it on my desk to do for a client as I type this.

If you’re wondering what you can do and should do, the answer’s simple. If you’re a fan of Ms. Nichols, or if you still carry a torch for her like my law partner, you can finally put your money where your mouth is and donate to her GoFundMe. If you attended a convention over the last decade, it’s quite possible that the $50 or more you spent to get an autograph never even made it into her hands. So it’d be a good chance to give now.

You can also tweet your support of this fundraiser by sharing this article and the GoFundMe link. You can also start tagging her castmates who haven’t given already. I told the family that I remember hearing George Takei speaking so fondly of her. Surely, he’d be happy to advertise her fundraiser if he knew it was ongoing. It’s likely he and other Hollywood friends don’t even know this is happening, and it’s up to their fans to let them know.

Whether they give publicly or anonymously is their business, but I’m confident they’d like to know it’s happening, and the family may be too nice to ask directly.

In the end, this situation is something that happens all the time to men and women of Ms. Nichols’s generation. And the reality is that, for most, the truth will never come out. But in this one case at least, all of us can have a hand in seeing that justice is served. If Mr. Bell is innocent, then all the money will simply serve as an audit to show he was a wonderful and trusted friend whom Ms. Nichols simply met in the later years of her life. If instead, he was someone who met a wealthy and successful woman in the waning years of her Hollywood popularity and used her to his own private gain – where he continues to live on her property for $300 a month with free utilities – then every dollar spent may amount to a dollar earned back to her.

Either way, justice will be done, and you can be a part of it – and all in the honor of an American icon.

Share this article with anyone you know, and start tagging any of her old castmates. Let’s give her all we’ve got, Captains.