Nick Offerman has already had quite an interesting Pride Month, only a couple of days in. The actor, best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the satirical comedy series Parks and Recreation, has recently taken to social media to express his disapproval of a clip from the show featuring his character being used to spread homophobic rhetoric. Offerman’s vehement disapproval of the tweet in question has proven the actor’s upstanding character, while also providing some much-needed humor in light of the unnecessarily hateful tweet.
The tweet in question was posted on X by Michael Flynn Jr., son of a retired Army lieutenant general and Trump’s former U.S. national security advisor, Michael Flynn, to convey “how he feels” about Pride Month, which he put in quotations. In the clip posted by Flynn Jr., Ron Swanson is shown throwing a rainbow flag into a dumpster. However, this isn’t an actual clip from the show—in the original context of the clip, it’s a computer that Ron is throwing away.
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Given that the clip is edited for the purpose of spreading a hateful message, Offerman would quote the tweet in question with a hilariously appropriate (and somewhat explicit) response: “Ron was best man at a gay wedding, you dumb f***.” Offerman’s response is unsurprising, especially since it is his performance in a scene that is being used for disrespectful reasons. Moreover, the character of Ron Swanson isn’t homophobic in the slightest, as pointed out in the actor’s response.
Nick Offerman Has Always Fought Back Against Homophobic Hate
HBO
The episode that Offerman is referencing is the series finale of Parks and Recreation, in which Ron is the best man to his hairdresser Typhoon, played by Rodney To. Therefore, seeing Michael Flynn Jr. use the character in a way that contradicts their values and beliefs warrants the type of response it has received on social media. There is also the fact that Offerman is no stranger to providing LGBTQIA+ representation himself.
Offerman recently played the character Bill in the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us, a doomsday-prepper who manages to secure a whole town for himself in the apocalypse. The character is the focus of Season 1, Episode 3, titled “Long, Long Time,” which expands on the character from the video game and dedicates the entire episode to his relationship with his partner, Frank (Murray Bartlett). It’s a beautiful love story centered on the two men as they build a life together, focusing on themes of love, resilience, and the passage of time.
The episode would win Offerman an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor, after which he would thank HBO in his speech for telling “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 a**hole!’” The actor has time and again fought back against critics who spew homophobic rhetoric, proving that Offerman is more than just a good actor, but also a great person willing to stand up for others.
Source: X
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