Once again, stars of HBO’s The Last of Us are standing up against homophobic critics of the show and its LGBTQ+ content.
Stars like Bella Ramsey, Storm Reid, Nick Offerman, and Murray Bartlett have already shut down complaints from homophobic viewers who said that the show focuses too much on gay characters. Now, Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel, has gotten in on the action.
In a new video from TMZ, a reporter is shown walking up to Pascal after he’s parked his car in West Hollywood, asking very basic questions about LGBTQ+ representation in the show, and Pascal simply has no time for it.
“Can I ask: what do you say to the people who don’t want to see the LGBT character love stories?” the paparazzo asks.
“They do,” Pascal shuts her down.
But she’s not done.
“Why is it so important that LGBTQ+ characters are on TV shows,” she asks when he returns to his car.
“I think you’re asking the question because you know why it’s so important,” Pascal replies.
“Can you tell me why?”
“You should know why,” was his blunt reply.
\u201c\u201cyou should know why\u201d\u201d— Pedro Pascal Daily (@Pedro Pascal Daily) 1678061592
The stars of The Last of Us, one of the most popular shows in HBO history, have had to answer questions like this before. Unfortunately, each time an episode has queer content, the stars are asked what they think of homophobic critics.
“I’m not particularly anxious about it,” Ramsey told GQ about potential backlash to the gay love story in episode 3 of the show. “I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out. It isn’t gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.”
“Like Bella said when episode 3 came out: If you don’t like it, don’t watch,” Reid later told Entertainment Weekly in an interview about episode 7, which focused on Ellie (Ramsey) and Riley’s (Reid) young romance. “We are telling important stories. We’re telling stories of people’s experiences, and that’s what I live for. That’s what makes good storytelling because we are telling stories of people who are taking up space in the world.”
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