Nick Offerman Mocks Ben Shapiro for Questioning His Masculinity: 'I Can’t Write a Better Joke'

Actor Nick Offerman called out right-wing political commentator Ben Shapiro for "rampant homophobia" regarding his criticism of Offerman's character in HBO's hit series The Last of Us. During an appearance on the "Talk Easy With Sam Fragoso" podcast, Offerman reacted to a past clip of Shapiro mocking the critically acclaimed 2023 episode "Long, Long Time.”

In the clip, Shapiro confused Offerman with his Parks and Recreation character, Ron Swanson, and dismissed the episode's central gay romance with crude remarks.

“The entire episode has no zombies, no real threat, and it is about two gay dudes who meet and have a relationship, in which one grows strawberries for the other, and then they die,” Shapiro said.

“There’s gay Ron Swanson, and it’s complete with s-- scenes and the whole thing,” he continued. “And gay Ron Swanson decides that he is also going to commit suicide at the same time because of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘Romeo and Romeo’ in this particular case.”

Offerman laughed off Shapiro's attempt to question his masculinity, noting he even used the rant as material for a comedic song on his tour.

“Holy s---...that’s crazy,” Offerman exclaimed.

“That’s the most Ben Shapiro I’ve ever seen, and there’s a very good reason for that,” he shared. “I mean, I don’t know what to say. I’m embarrassed for his reading comprehension. I think he got eight things wrong in his recap, besides his rampant homophobia.”

Although Offerman found the critique absurd, he admitted it is "really upsetting to understand how powerful that probably is" when such content circulates widely within right-wing media circles.

“I read what Ben Shapiro said — ‘Gay Ron Swanson.’ Then I wrote a song that I was performing on tour, and I would preface it 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,'” the comedian stated.

Offerman stated he has no intention of engaging in a back-and-forth online feud.

He emphasized that people like Elon Musk want people to "snark back," but he prefers to protect his disposition by focusing on real-life passions and creating art.

Offerman — who won an Emmy for playing the survivalist Bill — reiterated that he embraces his multi-faceted identity.

“I’m glad to be, you know, a guy who can split wood and change a truck tire and also can do that episode of The Last of Us and understand that it’s all just good work,” he said.