George Takei has apologized for referring to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as "a clown in blackface." In a Facebook update posted on Friday afternoon, Takei said, "I owe an apology. On the eve of this Independence Day, I have a renewed sense of what this country stands for, and how I personally could help achieve it." On Thursday the Star Trek actor, who is gay, came under fire when he told a reporter he disapproved of Thomas' dissent on the high court's landmark same-sex marriage case. "He is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court,” a jolted Takei said.