The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey adores their ‘gay army’ of supporters: ‘They’re louder than any trolls’
The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey was told they didn’t have ‘the Hollywood look’. (Getty)
Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in the TV adaptation of post-apocalyptic, fungal, survival series The Last of Us, has signalled their appreciation for the “gay army” supporting them.
Ramsey, who came out as non-binary earlier this year, gave an interview with Vogue in June in which the actor revealed that ‘they’ pronouns “are the most truthful for me”.
Fans and critics of The Last of Us have unanimously praised the adaptation of the 2013 video game of the same name, particularly commending its adherence to the source material and expansion of certain plot points, such as like Bill and Frank’s tragic love story in episode three, and Ellie and Riley’s kiss in episode seven.
While Ramsey has previously hit out at bigots criticising the episodes – despite the events being absolutely clear in the video game – Ramsey’s aware that they’re not fighting alone.
While appearing on The Last of Pods podcast, Ramsey revealed that although series creator Craig Mazin warned them not to look at the comments, they have “slightly, dramatically blown open that oath” and stumbled upon a certain group backing their character in the show.
“I’m very aware that there’s a gay army on Twitter who are supporting me and Ellie, and it’s like they’re so much louder than any people who still hate it, or hate the show, the homophobic trolls.
“[It] feels nice to have that army behind me. That’s been a reaction that I’ve really enjoyed.”
Episode three, “Long, Long Time”, followed the bittersweet romance between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), successfully challenging the pervasive “bury your gays” trope, and was heralded as one of the best episodes of television ever.
“Left Behind“, the seventh episode, reunites Ellie with best friend and crush Riley (Storm Reid), and has the pair develop feelings for each other after spending the day in an abandoned shopping centre. The adventure culminates in a kiss – before everything goes wrong and they are both bitten by an infected person.
Both stars of episode seven have spoken out against bigots, slamming the homophobic backlash that the episode faced. Reid called it “nonsense“, while Ramsey told the trolls to “get used to it”.
The Last of Us: Part Two, the original game’s sequel and assumed source material for the upcoming second season of the TV adaptation, also contains a storyline featuring a young trans boy and places Ellie’s relationship with girlfriend Dina front and centre.
The Last of Us continues on Sunday on HBO in the US and on Monday on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.
