Nick Offerman Slams Anti-Gay ‘Parks & Recreation’ Meme: “Dumb F***”

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As a devoted Parks and Recreation enthusiast, I’ve found myself dismayed by the recent actions of a conservative media personality. Instead of appreciating the humor in a beloved meme from our cherished show, they’ve twisted it into an offensive attack against the LGBTQ+ community. It’s truly unfortunate to see such misuse of something we all hold dear.

Michael Flynn Jr., son of the former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, shared a video featuring Ron Swanson from the NBC comedy on platform X. In this clip, Swanson discards a computer into a trash bin. However, in Flynn’s re-post, an LGBTQ+ pride flag was superimposed over the computer. Flynn captioned his post with “Good morning and happy Sunday! … I just wanted to express my feelings about ‘pride’ month.

On Monday, Offerman made a comment regarding a meme, saying, “Ron served as best man at a same-sex wedding, so don’t be foolish! #HappyPride.

Beyond his work on Parks, Offerman earned his initial Emmy for an outstanding guest performance in HBO’s hit series The Last of Us . In the episode titled “Long, Long Time“, he portrayed a gay survivalist who established his first same-sex relationship with another man, a role that garnered critical acclaim.

As a passionate fan, I experienced a wave of criticism from fellow enthusiasts following my performance. However, I took the opportunity to address these concerns during my acceptance speech at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Offerman expressed gratitude towards HBO for bravely joining the narrative tradition which is uniquely independent. He explained that these stories have the courage to tackle challenging themes, and when faced with prejudice, such as homophobic criticism asking ‘Why make it a gay story?’, his response would be, ‘Because your questions are asked.’ It’s not a gay tale; it’s a love narrative, you bigot. Let’s have more of that.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Offerman opened up about filming his debut on-screen romantic scene with Murray Bartlett, his fellow actor.

As a performer, I’ve always found those scenes to be quite uncomfortable – you know, the ones that require raw emotion when you’re in the most public setting, under the scrutiny of countless eyes. In such moments, the kindness and expertise of my fellow actors, like Murray, and our director, Peter Hoar, become invaluable. I’m not one to be overly concerned with vanity; after all, I’m hardly cast as a model for fitness calendars! Instead, I fret primarily about the storytelling. Whether I’m portraying a self-assured, swaggering lover or a timid, terrified virgin, my goal is to be truthful. To me, these scenes are no different from any other part of the performance. Society may view nudity as shocking, obscene, or cause for concern, but coming from a theater background filled with long-haired idealists, I try not to let it bother me too much.

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2025-06-03 19:24