Nick Offerman Reminds Fans That Ron Swanson Was A Gay Ally
If you’re going to be an online idiot, says Nick Offerman, don’t do it in Ron Swanson’s name.
The onition came after Michael Flynn Jr., son of former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn, tweeted a short video of Parks and Recreation character Swanson tossing a rainbow flag into a dumpster. The tweet coincided with the first day of Pride Month. “Good morning and Happy Sunday! No quotes today. Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month,” Flynn posted.
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The clip was a doctored version of a Parks and Rec video in which Swanson dumped his computer after learning it was serving him customized ads.
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Offerman’s response to Flynn? “Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb fuck. #HappyPride”
In the Parks and Rec series finale, Ron serves as best man to Typhoon (Rodney To) when he marries Pawnee Parks employee Craig (Billy Eichner). “Good luck, you two,” Swanson says as he presents the rings, a fatherly hand on Typhoon’s shoulder.
Ron and Typhoon did get off to a rocky start. After Ron’s old-school barber, Salvatore, ed away, he began seeing Donna’s hairdresser, Typhoon, whose hobbies included writing an electronic opera about Brittany Murphy and chandelier design for his friend’s drag puppet show. But the unlikely friends soon bonded over their shared dislike of Euro trash.
“Euro trash. I like that,” says Swanson in the stylist’s chair. “It is indeed a garbage continent.”
The friendship is cemented when Typhoon shared stories about his trip to Berlin where “everyone was on their stupid bikes.”
“Please talk more about how you hate Europe and bicycles,” giggles Swanson.
Offerman is no stranger to homophobic hate. He was an online target after his Emmy-winning turn as Bill, a gay character, on The Last of Us. “I was kind of fascinated by how openly people will express hate and brand themselves as bigots,” Offerman told iNews in 2023. “I kept thinking: ‘We can see you!’ Because here were men saying: ‘I’m a father and a Christian and a patriot, and I hate queers.’”
There’s a certain demographic that identifies with the masculine values of Ron Swanson but can’t reconcile the character’s open attitudes about sexuality, Offerman said. “People who come to my shop are straight, gay, trans, non-gender-conforming. It doesn’t matter if you want to make a table, and why should it?” he explained. “We’re basically punishing people for loving wrong. All these people want to do is to love each other.”
