Actor Nick Offerman addressed podcaster Ben Shapiro’s 2023 criticism of his Emmy-winning role in HBO’s The Last of Us during a podcast appearance, calling the commentary “insane” and citing rampant homophobia. According to an interview on the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast, Offerman reacted to a clip of Shapiro criticizing the third episode of the post-apocalyptic drama.
Nick Offerman Responds to Ben Shapiro’s 2023 Rant
During his appearance on the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast, host Sam Fragoso played a clip for Nick Offerman featuring right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro discussing the actor’s performance in The Last of Us (as reported by HuffPost and The Hollywood Reporter). In the 2023 segment from The Ben Shapiro Show, Shapiro criticized the storyline of episode three, titled “Long, Long Time,” which focuses on a 20-year romance between Offerman’s survivalist character, Bill, and an outsider named Frank, played by Murray Bartlett.
In the clip shown to Offerman, Shapiro characterized the episode as featuring “two gay dudes who meet and have a relationship in which one grows strawberries for the other and then they die,” while questioning the absence of zombies and active threats in that specific narrative arc.
Offerman reacted with visible surprise, telling Fragoso, “Holy shit. First of all, was it necessary to do that at 1.5 times speed? I mean, that poor guy. That’s crazy.” Offerman added that it was the most he had ever seen of the podcaster, stating, “I’m embarrassed for his reading comprehension. I think he got eight things wrong in his recap, besides his rampant homophobia.”
Impact and Tour Integration
Offerman told Fragoso that he previously read about Shapiro’s commentary, which actually inspired him to incorporate the podcaster into his live comedy tour.
According to Offerman, he would preface a song during his live shows by saying, “I was going to write a joke about this, but Ben Shapiro questioned my masculinity and I can’t write a better joke than that” (as noted by HuffPost).
Reflecting on the broader cultural reaction, Offerman noted that his past work, particularly playing Ron Swanson, has led some viewers to view him as a symbol of machismo. However, the actor expressed pride in balancing diverse roles, stating he is glad to be someone who can split wood and change a truck tire while also taking on an emotionally complex television episode and understanding that “it’s all just good work” (via HuffPost). For his performance in the HBO drama, Offerman ultimately won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
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