Nick Offerman has no time for your nonsense. The Parks & Rec actor’s recent quote tweet let anyone still wringing their hands over last week’s episode of The Last of Us know exactly where he stands when it comes to LGBT storylines and the right to tell them with compassion and empathy.
Offerman quote tweeted a passage from Deuteronomy forbidding men from wearing “women’s garments” and vice versa. His reply was that people who hold viewpoints like the original poster and their “brand of ignorance and hate” were “exactly why we make stories like” the latest episode of the dystopian sci-fi series The Last of Us, currently streaming on HBO Max.
It should be pointed out that Deuteronomy also forbids, among other things, being uncircumcised, not having an intact hymen when married, living in a city that failed to surrender to the Israelites, believing in your horoscope, and eating cheeseburgers.
In the episode entitled “Long Long Time,” Offerman portrays Bill, one-half of a gay couple, as the episode follows Bill and his partner, later spouse, Frank (played by The White Lotus Emmy-winner Murray Bartlett) as they meet, fall in love, and carve out a life together in the wake of the Cordyceps infection that has brought humanity to the brink of destruction. The episode has gained widespread praise, with TV Guide saying it’s “on track to be one of the best episodes of 2023.”
However, the episode has received plenty of homophobic backlash as well, particularly from gamers who insist Bill’s sexuality was only hinted at in the game and many resenting the platforming of a sixteen-year relationship between two men. Sadly, not to mention pathetically, some have launched a review bombing campaign to lower the episode’s ratings on IMDb.
However, if the review bombers are hoping to find an ally in Offerman, they can forget it. This is far from Offerman’s first time at bat defending LGBT rights either. Speaking of Indiana’s 2015 bill that allowed businesses to discriminate against gay clientele, Offerman offered his interpretation of what his iconic Ron Swanson character would think of the bill, saying, “he thinks the government should stay the hell out of people’s lives and bedrooms, and any law that purports to take a stance on people’s private choices — and make no mistake, that is what this bill is doing — is a piece of sh*t bill.”