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- Primary Subject: Nick Offerman calls out Ben Shapiro's homophobia and Neil Druckmann exiting The Last of Us season 3
- Key Update: The Last of Us star Nick Offerman slammed political commentator Ben Shapiro for "rampant homophobia" over his critique of the show, while series co-creator Neil Druckmann confirmed Naughty Dog will have no creative involvement in season 3.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: September 9, 2026
- Quick Answer: Nick Offerman called out Ben Shapiro's homophobic criticism of The Last of Us, while Neil Druckmann confirmed Naughty Dog isn't writing season 3.
Three years later, as The Last of Us season 3 begins filming, its groundbreaking first season still dominates pop culture headlines with thought-provoking, heated discourse online.
Prominent commentators like Ben Shapiro keep the series at the top of mainstream shows of ongoing political and cultural debates, proving the Emmy-winning adaptation remains just as relevant and controversial today as it was when it first hit small screens.
Nick Offerman Claps Back Against Ben Shapiro's "Rampant Homophobia"
During an appearance on the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast, Emmy winner Nick Offerman confronted a clip of conservative personality Ben Shapiro lambasting his celebrated season 1 episode, Long Long Time.
In the clip, Shapiro slammed Bill and Frank's episode had "no zombies, no real threat,", implying that The Last of Us episode contributed 'nothing' to push the story forward and that it merely portrayed "gay Ron Swanson" who 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."
Considering this wasn't Offerman's first rodeo facing homophobic comments, he only had one thing to say: "Holy s***... that's crazy."
"That's the most Ben Shapiro I've ever seen, and there's a very good reason for that," Offerman continued. "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."
Offerman starred opposite Murray Bartlett in the Long Long Time episode, which essentially featured Bill reminiscing about his love story with Frank over 20 years as the world succumbed to a zombie virus.
While the homophobic trolls didn't hold back, the episode earned universal acclaim from critics and fans for spotlighting the romance amid the global crisis.
The Last of Us Season 3 Confirms Naughty Dog Is Not Writing a Word of It
Meanwhile, as production continues for The Last of Us season 3 in British Columbia, franchise co-creator Neil Druckmann confirmed that neither he nor video game developer Naughty Dog has any creative input in the upcoming scripts.
Druckmann, who co-wrote and co-directed the original video games and co-created the HBO series, officially stepped back to focus entirely on Naughty Dog's next major video game project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
With Druckmann, Halley Gross, and the game studio stepping aside to make way for a fresher take in The Last of Us universe, showrunner Craig Mazin is steering the ship as the sole creative mind for season 3.
The upcoming season will adapt the remaining half of The Last of Us Part II, shifting its focus toward Abby's perspective, with Mazin leading a fresh writing team to close the curtains on the television adaptation. Stay tuned!
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