by Bella Ramsey is “not particularly concerned about” the anti-LGBTQ backlash to her hit HBO series The Last of Us.
In an interview with GQ UK magazine published on Monday, the 19-year-old actor appeared unshaken by actual or potential hatred from those who disapprove of the show’s LGBTQ storylines, as well as the popular video game of the same name.
For reference, The Last of Us episode three featured a love story between two male characters, Bill and Frank, and was met with a mix of praise and homophobia online. (According to GQ, the episode was “reviewed” by IMDb and Metacritic users, although it received widespread acclaim from fans and critics.)
Additionally, The Last of Us Part II video game sees Ramsey’s character Ellie develop a romantic relationship with another female character, Dina, and introduces a transgender character named Lev. After recently attending a writing session for Season 2 of The Last of Us, Ramsey told GQ she thinks the next season will “most likely follow the storyline of the games again” and that there’s “not much need.” will fill in the blanks” — indicating that more LGBTQ characters and storylines will be woven into the series as the series progresses.
“I’m not particularly concerned about that,” she told GQ of possible outrage over the increasing LGBTQ elements of the survival drama.
“People will think what they want to think. But they will 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 won’t scare me,” Ramsey added. “I think that comes from a place of defiance.”
According to GQ, Ramsey is looking forward to potentially exploring Ellie and Dina’s relationship in Season 2, which was recently greenlit by HBO.
“There are probably a few tracks with Ellie alone, but I like the fact that she has it too [Dina] now,” she said.
In a January interview with The New York Times, Ramsey spoke about her own relationship with the LGBTQ community, revealing that her “gender has always been very fluid.” She added that she doesn’t “particularly like” being gendered, but “doesn’t care” when it comes to pronouns.
(Ramsey chose to use her/her pronouns for the GQ interview)
Ramsey later told GQ that her “Last of Us” co-star Pedro Pascal was “super supportive” of her gender identity, adding that she and Pascal often discussed gender and sexuality in conversations that were “not always profound.” were while they worked together on the set.
“They could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum,” Ramsey said. “We were just very honest and open with each other.”
What bothers Ramsey “more than pronouns” is “being referred to as ‘young woman’ or ‘powerful young woman’, ‘young lady,'” she explained to GQ.
“It’s just not me [that],” she continued. “[In the film] “Catherine Called Birdy,” I wore dresses. “Young Elizabeth,” I was wearing a corset. And I felt super powerful doing it. Playing these more feminine characters is a chance to be something so opposite of me, and it’s really fun.”
