NEED TO KNOW
- Michael Flynn Jr. posted an anti-Pride comment on X, which included a Parks and Recreation meme
- The meme was that of Nick Offerman’s character Ron Swanson throwing away a gay pride flag
- Offerman clapped back, reminding viewers that his iconic character was the best man at a gay wedding
Nick Offerman is wishing fans of Parks and Recreation a happy Pride Month.
Michael Flynn Jr., a conservative media figure and the son of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who served under the Trump administration for 22 days in 2017, shared a clip of Offerman’s performance as Ron Swanson on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation.
The clip showed Ron throwing a computer into a dumpster from the season 4 episode, “The Trial of Leslie Knope.” In the video on X, a LGBTQ+ pride flag was superimposed over the computer.
Flynn Jr. captioned the post on X, shared on Sunday, June 1, “Good morning and Happy Sunday! No quotes today. Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month.”
On Monday, June 2, Offerman, 54, responded by saying, “Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb f—. #HappyPride.”
Fans of the show applauded his reply, and fired back at critics of the LGBTQ+ community sharing the meme.
One X user wrote, “HELL YEA HAPPY PRIDE,” while sharing a still from the episode of Parks and Recreation in which Offerman’s character served as the best man at his barber Typhoon Montalban (Rodney To)’s gay wedding.
Another wrote, “Thank you for giving us one of the best characters in TV history.” Meanwhile, another user pointed to Offerman’s episode of HBO’s The Last of Us, in which he plays a gay character living off the grid with his partner in the show’s post-apocalyptic United States.
“They clearly haven’t seen him in The Last Of Us lol,” the X user wrote.
In 2024, when the actor won an Independent Spirit Award for his performance in The Last of Us, he condemned the “homophobic hate” the episode received from viewers.
“Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent,” Offerman said. “Stories with guts that when homophobic hate comes my way, and says, ‘Why did you have to make it a gay story?’ we say, ‘Because you ask questions like that.’“
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you a——,” he said, and was met with an enthusiastic round of applause from the audience.
“So, more of that,” he added.
Flynn Jr.’s father plead guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) regarding contact with a Russian ambassador in 2017. Flynn was later pardoned by President Donald Trump in November 2020.
Read the full article here
