Her only child, Kyle Johnson, claims that worsening dementia could open the door to the beloved Nyota Uhura being exploited by others.
For 50 years, Nichelle Nichols has played the beloved Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, its respective movies, and been a mainstay in the comic convention scene around the globe.
Now, in a report by the Los Angeles Times, the actress is caught at the center of a years-long conservatorship battle only being made worse by her ongoing bout with dementia.
Kyle Johnson, her only child, claimed his mother could be exploited due to her dementia and sought a petition for her conservatorship, which he won, in 2018. In it, Johnson, 50, alleges that Nichols’ former manager, Gilbert Bell, has used his influence to take control of his client’s assets and personal affairs.
Bell, in turn, has filed a lawsuit against Johnson claiming he is “orchestrating an aggressive” attempt to remove him from Nichols’ guest home. Johnson has a countersuit which accuses Nichols of “taking control over Ms. Nichols’ assets and personal affairs” as her dementia worsened.
Nichols, who suffered a mild stroke at her Los Angeles home in 2015, was diagnosed with dementia sometime in 2018. Later on, she subsequently announced her retirement from convention appearances.
The situation gets even more wild when Nichols’ friend, Angelique Fawcette, who was named as her successor, claims that Bell left the home in a state of “disrepair” even as he took care of Nichols’ meals and medical appointments. Bell proposed marriage to Nichols, which prompted high levels of concern from her family and friends.
However, in an intriguing twist, that makes this whole conservatorship a level of concern, Fawcette, as named successor, objected to Johnson’s petition for conservatorship as she believes the former actress can manage her own affairs.
