Pedro Pascal epically shut down reporter questioning why queer stories matter

LGBTQ+ ally and hot dad of the moment Pedro Pascal has no time for The Last of Us fans who question whether queer storylines belong on the show.

Pascal, who co-stars alongside Bella Ramsey as grizzled father-figure Joel, made it known that he has no time for anyone who questions whether these stories belong on The Last of Us. TMZ recently spotted the actor in West Hollywood and attempted to grill him about the show’s LGBTQ+ storylines.

Related:

“The Last of Us” delivered a gorgeous & haunting episode about a gay couple

SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 3: Critics have already hailed the episode focused on Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman’s characters as the best of the season so far.

“Can I ask: what do you say to the people who don’t want to see the LGBT character love stories?” the cameraperson asks in video posted to the gossip site on Sunday.  

“They do!” Pascal replies as he walks away.

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Despite his attempt not to engage with the online anti-LGBTQ+ chatter, the cameraperson persists when Pascal returns later, asking him why it’s so important for LGBTQ+ characters to be featured on TV shows.

“I think you’re asking the question because you know why it’s so important,” Pascal replies.

“Can you tell me why?” the cameraperson persists.

“You should know why,” Pascal responds before getting into his car and ending the interaction.

On Twitter, fans applauded Pascal for handling the situation with grace, calling him “iconic” and “kind.”

He handled this with grace and I applaud him for that. Tmz is horrible leave him alone!

— Melody Leticia (@MelodyLeticia) March 6, 2023

he’s so fucking iconic

— percy DARLING DEAREST???!?! (@goldenisbrave) March 6, 2023

This shows you how he truly is a lovely guy. Didn’t loose his temper at all when he probs felt like telling her where to go

— SharonMarie (@SharonMarie74) March 6, 2023

he’s so cool

— mads (@madraun) March 6, 2023

I don't even want to talk about her, he is polite and kind as always even if he is clearly provoking him! lovely Pedro

— Clarissa Cecchetti (@ClarissaCecche3) March 6, 2023

Pascal, whose sister is trans and who has played queer on both HBO’s Game of Thrones and MTV’s late 90s soap opera Undressed, has made his support of the LGBTQ+ community well-known. On Sunday, he posted photos of the Progress Pride and transgender pride flags on his official Instagram.

“The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind,” he captioned the post, quoting Bob Dylan, possibly in response to TMZ’s questions.

The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic series based on an acclaimed video game, has been widely praised by critics, particularly for an early episode centered around a same-sex couple played by Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman. A more recent episode featured an extended flashback revealing that Ellie (Bella Ramsey), the scrappy teen who may be the key to a cure for the show’s fungal plague, had romantic feelings for her best friend Riley (Storm Reid).

Of course, all the critical acclaim in the world hasn’t stopped anti-LGBTQ+ trolls from complaining online that queer love doesn’t belong in their gritty zombie show. Following the episode featuring Bartlett and Offerman’s story, IMDB.com was inundated with 1-star reviews of the episode, many of them explicitly homophobic in tone. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro even posted a 14-minute video complaining that the episode eschewed zombies in favor of a gay love story.