At the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Nick Offerman answered people who objected to the Bill and Frank episode of The Last of Us with a blunt reply: “It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you asshole!” He was accepting Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series for playing Bill. Offerman had previously said the episode brought him homophobic abuse on social media.
What did Nick Offerman say?
In his Spirit Awards acceptance speech, Offerman referred to homophobic criticism of the episode and said: “It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you asshole!” GamesRadar published that wording in its February 27, 2024 report. The Advocate’s CNN Wire report from the same date gives a shorter version, ending with “you a–hole.” The reports agree on the central line, but differ in the surrounding wording and punctuation; consult an official event recording for a definitive full transcript. GamesRadar; The Advocate.
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What was the backlash about?
The criticism concerned “Long, Long Time,” the third episode of the first season, which centers on Bill, played by Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray Bartlett. The episode follows their relationship over decades. In June 2023, Offerman told The Independent that he had received “a lot of homophobic hate via social media.” Reflecting on people expressing hatred openly, he said, “I was kinda fascinated by how openly people will express hate and brand themselves as bigots.” The Independent.
That account establishes that Offerman experienced homophobic abuse; it does not show that every negative reaction to the episode was motivated by homophobia, or establish a count of the abuse.
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Why did the episode differ from the game?
The television episode substantially expands a story the game leaves largely implicit. In the game, Bill is alive when Joel and Ellie meet him, and clues hint at his past with Frank. The show instead makes Bill and Frank’s relationship the focus of the episode and follows it across many years; both men are dead by the time Joel and Ellie arrive. TIME’s January 30, 2023 interview with showrunner Craig Mazin describes the adaptation choice: “With Bill, we were able to explore the passage of time.” Mazin said the expanded story gave two minor game characters a fuller backstory. TIME.
That change made the episode a more explicit portrayal of Bill and Frank’s love than the game’s brief allusions. It also made their story, rather than its clues and aftermath, the episode’s central subject.
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Rank #4
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- COMPLETE SEASONS 1 & 2 COLLECTION – Includes every episode from the first two acclaimed HBO seasons across a 7-disc Blu-ray set
- BASED ON THE AWARD-WINNING VIDEO GAME – Faithfully adapts Naughty Dog's legendary post-apocalyptic masterpiece with cinematic storytelling
- STARRING PEDRO PASCAL & BELLA RAMSEY – Outstanding performances alongside Gabriel Luna, Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Isabela Merced, and Catherine O'Hara
- HIGH-DEFINITION BLU-RAY – Experience every episode with exceptional picture quality, immersive audio, and bonus features
- REGION FREE BLU-RAY – Compatible with Blu-ray players worldwide
Rank #3
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