They’ve boldly gone where no men (on the show) have gone before…

It’s finally happened. The latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery included the franchise’s first ever gay kiss in a scene that was powerful and poignant.

Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) and Dr Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) locked lips on the USS Discovery in the mid-season finale, after we’ve followed their cuter-than-cute relationship throughout the series so far.

However, Wilson anticipated a negative reaction to the same-sex romance, and recently delivered a powerful message to those who may take issue with the LGBTQ representation on the show.

“You can turn your TV off, sure, but you’ll only be cheating yourself,” he wrote. “LGBTQ people aren’t going to just disappear because you put your head in the sand. We share the planet with you. We have always been here. We will always be here.

“You just don’t want to see us. I’m happy to tell you we won’t be invisible anymore. Not for your comfort. We are living and loving out loud the way our creator intended us to because LOVE is nothing to hide.

“If my love offends you then you should take a look at that. Love is never wrong. It is the answer.”

He added: “We need MORE of it along with more curiosity and wonder at the diversity within our very own species. That’s no accident. We were all made differently for a reason.

“How much easier would it be if we were all the same? Perhaps, we aren’t exactly the same so we could do the great work of seeing, appreciating and LOVING those beautiful and quirky differences that make us human.

“Willful ignorance has only brought us pain and anger and death. I know that’s not what you want.”

Star Trek: Discovery is set 10 years before we see Captain Kirk and Spock embark on their adventures on the USS Enterprise.

The series airs on CBS in the US, and is available for UK viewers on Netflix.

The show will continue with a brand new episode on 7 January, 2018.