William Shatner foi realmente um idiota nos anos 60, 70 e 80?

Esta resposta lista vários trechos de artigos que teorizam porque Shatner não apareceu durante a inauguração da NASA Empresa de transporte. Metade deles são menos que positivos e soam como se Bill fosse um idiota conhecido naquela época. Eu só ouvi coisas boas sobre ele e não sei por que todo esse ódio foi jogado ao redor.

Aqui estão os trechos em questão (ênfase minha):

But where's is Shatner? He probably didn't attend, because he's too cool for school. Or maybe he was banging a NASA girl in the shuttle bay, who knows. But all is forgiven: At least he went back to NASA to record the last wake up call for Discovery.

If you don’t recognize them, that’s the cast of the original Star Trek television series, minus William Shatner who was apparently too important to show up. (Actually, I don’t know why Shatner wasn’t there, but it’s no secret that he frequently behaved like a colossal jerk during the ’70s and ’80s.)

Therin of Andor: Shatner made a habit of being absent from such high profile events, probably his agent holding out for an appearance fee. He was also absent from all the other actors' Hollywood Star Ceremonies (except Nimoy's and Roddenberry's), and more recently George Takei's wedding.
WHF: He was probably the only one with a job at the time and had to work.

Então William Shatner foi tão mal quanto essas pessoas dizem que ele era?