Actor Revealed Parks and Rec Cast Was Devastated by Jonathan Joss’ Murder
Nick Offerman, known for his role as Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, responded forcefully this week after a doctored video falsely portrayed his character as mocking LGBTQ+ pride. The actor condemned the clip and reiterated his support for the LGBTQ+ community.
The controversy began when Michael Flynn Jr., son of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, shared a manipulated video on the platform formerly known as Twitter. In the clip, Flynn Jr. inserted a rainbow pride flag into a scene where Ron Swanson throws an object into a dumpster. The altered video was captioned: “Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month.”
Offerman responded with a quote tweet that did not mince words.
However, the original scene, from the Parks and Recreation Season 4 episode “The Trial of Leslie Knope,” shows Swanson disposing of his computer, not a pride flag.
Offerman, who has long been vocal in his support of LGBTQ+ rights, responded by invoking the show’s 2015 finale, One Last Ride, in which Ron serves as best man at the wedding of his gay friend and barber, Typhoon.
In 2024, Offerman won a Film Independent Spirit Award for his performance in HBO’s The Last of Us, which featured a critically acclaimed episode focused on a same-sex relationship between his character, Bill, and Frank, played by Murray Bartlett. During his acceptance speech, Offerman addressed the backlash from anti-LGBTQ+ viewers, saying, “Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent. 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. It’s not a gay story it’s a love story, you asshole!”
In a touching tribute to his Parks and Rec co-star Jonathan Joss, the gay Indigenous actor who was murdered last weekend, Offerman said, “The cast has been texting together about it all day, and we’re just heartbroken. Jonathan was such a sweet guy, and we loved having him as our Chief Ken Hotate. A terrible tragedy.”
