Nick Offerman Addresses “Homophobic Hate” Aimed At His ‘Last Of Us’ Episode At Independent Spirit Awards

At Sunday’s Independent Spirit Awards, actor Nick Offerman addressed “homophobic hate” aimed over the last year at “Long, Long Time,” his much-lauded standalone episode of HBO‘s post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us, in which he stars opposite Murray Bartlett.

“Thank you so much, Film Independent. I’m astonished to be in this category, which is bananas,” Offerman began while on stage to accept the prize for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series. “Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent. 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.'”

Added an impassioned Offerman: “It’s not a gay story it’s a love story, you assh*le.”

Offerman also won an Emmy for his turn on The Last of Us as Bill, a gay survivor of a zombie apocalypse, whose decades-long love story with Frank (Bartlett) is chronicled in what has been perhaps the most discussed episode of the show’s first season.

Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey — the latter, also nominated today — the show is currently in production on its second season.