“It’s Not A Gay Story, It’s A Love Story” — Nick Offerman Just Called Out Anti-Gay Hate Aimed At His “The Last Of Us” Character In His Acceptance Speech At The Independent Spirit Awards

On Sunday night, Nick Offerman won the Independent Spirit Award for best supporting performance for his role in The Last of Us. He used his speech to praise HBO for telling his character’s story, as well as to call out the anti-gay comments it garnered.

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“I’m astonished to be in this category, which is bananas,” Offerman said in his speech. “Congrats to all of you… This is crazy.” He thanked HBO for “having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition, that is truly independent.”

The story in question is a love story told in the episode “Long, Long Time,” which portrays the lives of Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett’s characters following the zombie apocalypse.

Over the span of 20 years, the two men meet, live together, and fall in love, bringing tenderness into a world otherwise ravaged by the apocalypse. HBO

Offerman thanked HBO for telling “stories with guts,” and addressed the anti-gay backlash “Long, Long Time” faced: “When homophobic hate comes my way, and says, ‘Why’d 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 asshole.'”

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Offerman went on to praise the show’s writers, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, its director, Peter Hoar, and his costar, Murray Bartlett, who was also nominated. “Murray Bartlett planted the strawberries — that is not a euphemism,” he told the audience.

HBO

He ended the speech humorously, by thanking “my bride, my puzzle coach…and legal property, Megan Mullally,” to laughs from the audience. You can watch the full speech below:

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