“Why did they have to make it gay?” “We don’t need to know about the character’s sexuality.” “Oh, look, they’re pandering to the alphabet people again.”
If these seem familiar to you, then you’ve probably observed the dark side of the discourse surrounding “Long, Long Time,” the third episode of Max’s high-flying dystopian drama The Last of Us, based on the award-winning video game of the same name. The discourse, of course, stemming from the overwhelmingly lauded love story of Bill and Frank, which warmed and shattered hearts worldwide, and the inevitable homophobia that followed.
But even a year later, Nick Offerman, who portrayed Bill in the series, is still having none of it. During his acceptance speech for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series (as reported by Deadline), the actor took aim at those who just refuse to pull their head out of the sand.
“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.’ It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you a**hole.”
Indeed, Offerman’s comments, while brief, are incredibly incisive. Those still asking why they made Bill and Frank gay could ask themselves why they made Han and Leia straight, or why they made Jack and Rose straight, or why they made Monica and Chandler straight, and so on and so forth. I can pretty much guarantee you that, if you’re not still coping with and struggling against the fact that there’s no such thing as a default human being, you will arrive at the same answer for all four questions.
But, hey, maybe those Twitter denizens are right—maybe we don’t need to know a character’s sexuality. So, from now on, no movie or television character can ever kiss or flirt with anyone else ever again; problem solved!
(featured image: Max)
