Nick Offerman has criticized a right-wing media figure for turning a Parks and Recreation meme into an anti-gay slam.
Michael Flynn Jr. — son of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn — posted a clip of Offerman’s character Ron Swanson from the NBC comedy. In the clip, Swanson throws a computer into a dumpster. In Flynn’s version posted on X, an LGBTQ+ pride flag was placed over the computer. Flynn wrote, “Good morning and Happy Sunday! … Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month.”
Offerman responded to the meme on Monday, writing, “Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb fuck. #HappyPride.”
In addition to his role on Parks, Offerman won his first Emmy for his acclaimed guest role on HBO’s The Last of Us in the episode “Long, Long Time,” where he played a gay survivalist who forms his first queer relationship with another man.
The role resulted in some backlash from some of his fans, an issue he addressed when he won an Independent Spirit Award.
“Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent,” Offerman said. “Stories with guts, that when homophobic hate comes my way and says, ‘Why did you have to make it a gay story?’ We say, ‘Because you ask questions like that.’ It’s not a gay story. It’s a love story, you asshole. So more of that.’”
During a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Offerman discussed doing his first on-camera love scene with another man, his co-star Murray Bartlett.
“Those are always the most awkward things to do,” Offerman said. “It’s portraying something with as much sincerity as possible when you’re in the least intimate setting surrounded by people scrutinizing you. That’s where the generosity of your scene partner like Murray, who’s very experienced, and our director Peter Hoar, who’s also very experienced, really come into play. And I don’t have a lot of vanity. For obvious reasons, I’m not cast as a calendar model. I worry a lot more just about the storytelling. So whether I’m playing a confident swaggering, god-like lover or a vulnerable, scared virgin, I just do my best to portray that truthfully, and I don’t consider it that different from anything else. I know that conventionally and societally when clothes come off it’s a possible shock or obscenity, or a cause for concern for people. But I come from the theater where we’re a bunch of long-haired peaceniks, so I don’t think about it too much.”
