The Last Of Us has been gifting us with some emotionally-charged plotlines, in between scenes of Pedro Pascal looking frustrated and that icky zombie guy. But there are people out there who seem to exist solely to complain about every move that HBO makes in regard to the show (or, like, life in general).
The series was met with backlash after a critically acclaimed episode featured a love story between two men, played by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett. But Bella Ramsey, who plays the fearless Ellie, doesn’t seem concerned about the haters.
In a new interview with GQ, Ramsey addressed the controversy, which she doesn’t let affect her. “I’m not particularly anxious about it,” Ramsey said about backlash over the inclusive storylines. She added, “I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out. It isn’t gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.”
Ramsey announced earlier this year that she identifies as non-binary, though she doesn’t have a pronoun preference. She also said that in between takes, she and Pedro Pascal would discuss sexual identity. “They weren’t always deep [conversations], they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum,” Ramsey said. Pascal’s sister came out as transgender in 2021, and Ramsey said that these conversations help different generations understand where each other is coming from. “We were just very honest and open with each other.”
Fans of the original video game series will note that Ellie was portrayed as a lesbian in the universe, so there will likely be more queer-inclusive storylines to come. The more the merrier!