From the commit message:

    For the sake of consistency, Sup should always use the starred_color
    for the 'starred' column in the thread-index-mode, whether there's a
    star or a blank.

    Rationale: With this patch, I'm able to set the background color of
    the thread-index to bg:7 without having to change my term's
    background color.  Without the patch, the background color shines
    through in the starred column.

Regards,
    Gregor Hoffleit