Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman eviscerated Michael Flynn Jr., the son of Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor, over a recent homophobic post on X.
On Monday, the first day of Pride Month, Flynn Jr. shared an edited clip from Parks and Recreation of Offerman’s curmudgeonly Ron Swanson angrily chucking an old computer monitor into the garbage — except the monitor had been replaced with a rainbow Pride flag.
“Good morning and Happy Sunday! No quotes today. Just wanted to post how I feel about ‘pride’ month,” Flynn Jr. wrote.
“Ron was best man at a gay wedding you dumb f***. #HappyPride,” Offerman, 54, replied, referencing the series finale, in which Ron served as the best man at the wedding between his hairdresser Typhoon (Rodney To) and Pawnee Parks staffer Craig (Billy Eichner).
His response came as the cast of Parks and Recreation responded to the death of their co-star Jonathan Joss, who was killed outside his burned-down home Sunday after an alleged campaign of homophobic harassment against him and his new husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales.
“The cast has been texting together about it all day and we’re just heartbroken,” Offerman told People in a statement. “Jonathan was such a sweet guy and we loved having him as our Chief Ken Hotate. A terrible tragedy.”
Throughout the seven-season sitcom, Ron was known for his allyship to the LGBTQ+ community. Offerman, who later starred as a gay man in a standalone 2023 episode of The Last of Us, previously denounced the homophobia that his storyline generated.
“Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent,” the actor said in his 2024 Independent Spirit Awards acceptance speech for best supporting performance in a new scripted series.
“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!”
Flynn Jr. is known for making controversial declarations on X. In 2017, he slammed the Women’s March in Washington, writing: “What victory? Women already have equal rights, and YES equal pay in this country. What MORE do you want? Free mani/pedis?”
The previous year, he and his father, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn Sr., made headlines for spreading fake news numerous times. Many of their X posts involved conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and their allies.
Flynn Sr. served as Trump’s National Security Advisor for 22 days during his first term as president. However, he swiftly resigned after it was revealed that he misled former Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
