{"id":8712,"date":"2026-09-08T11:35:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T10:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=8712"},"modified":"2026-09-08T11:35:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T10:35:59","slug":"the-last-of-us-star-nick-offerman-accuses-ben-shapiro-rampant-homophobia-over-hbo-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/09\/08\/the-last-of-us-star-nick-offerman-accuses-ben-shapiro-rampant-homophobia-over-hbo-show\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last of Us star accuses Ben Shapiro of \u2018rampant homophobia\u2019 over HBO show"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Offerman\u2019s The Last of Us character is long gone, but the actor isn\u2019t letting Ben Shapiro\u2019s comments about the HBO<\/a> show slide, saying he\u2019s \u201cembarrassed\u201d for him over his reading comprehension while calling out his \u201crampant homophobia\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Parks and Recreation star played survivalist Bill in season one episode three of The Last of Us<\/a> adaptation, which largely steps away from Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to tell Bill\u2019s years-long love story with Frank (Murray Bartlett).<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s truly one of the best<\/a> – and most heartbreaking – single TV episodes in history, not just because Bill and Frank\u2019s relationship is so sweet to watch unfold, but because it manages to encapsulate everything The Last of Us is about into a single hour. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bill spent years preparing to survive the end of the world alone, only to discover through Frank that simply staying alive isn\u2019t a life at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nick
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The episode was met with widespread acclaim when it first dropped in 2023, but one person who didn\u2019t approve is conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who missed the point entirely. <\/span><\/p>\n

He complained that there weren\u2019t enough \u201czombies\u201d (even though there weren\u2019t any infected in episode four, which he didn\u2019t take issue with) and referred to Offerman\u2019s character as \u201cgay Ron Swanson\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shapiro’s review has now been put directly to Offerman during a recent appearance on <\/span>Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso<\/span><\/a>, and while the actor had previously read some of his comments, he’d never actually watched him deliver them before.<\/span><\/p>\n

After Fragoso played the clip, Offerman initially seemed almost lost for words, before saying, \u201cI mean, that poor guy. That’s crazy. That’s the most Ben Shapiro I’ve ever seen, and there\u2019s a very good reason for that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The actor then said he\u2019s \u201cembarrassed for his reading comprehension,\u201d adding, \u201cI think he got eight things wrong in his recap besides his rampant homophobia.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nick
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Offerman clearly saw the funny side of Shapiro questioning his masculinity, revealing he\u2019d even turned it into a running joke.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote a song that I was performing on tour and I would preface it by saying, \u2018I was going to write a joke about this, but Ben Shapiro questioned my masculinity and I can\u2019t write a better joke than that.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But what troubles him is the number of people Shapiro\u2019s comments could reach. He described the clip as \u201cso dumb and so wrong\u201d, before admitting it\u2019s \u201creally upsetting to understand how powerful that probably is and how many people it\u2019s reached\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than spending his time fighting back at hate online, Offerman said he tries not to engage with it at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the billionaires, I think Elon wants me to go on social media and snark back at all of them,\u201d he said, joking that if he does do that, he\u2019ll suddenly be 90 and realise he hasn\u2019t spent his time doing the things he actually cares about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Offerman also explained he doesn\u2019t know what he could say to people who already agree with figures like Shapiro that wouldn\u2019t simply make them more hostile towards him. \u201cIt might as well be Goebbels, it might as well be David Duke on the pulpit,\u201d he added. <\/span><\/p>\n