Rainn Wilson called out The Last of Us for perpetuating “anti-Christian bias in Hollywood” and then criticised Fox News for covering his comments.
*Warning – Minor spoiler ahead for The Last of Us episode eight*
The Office star took issue with the hit video game adaptation’s eighth episode, which featured a cannibalistic pastor named David (Scott Shepherd).
Over the weekend, Wilson tweeted: “I do think there is an anti-Christian bias in Hollywood. As soon as the David character in The Last of Us started reading from the Bible I knew that he was going to be a horrific villain.
“Could there be a Bible-reading preacher on a show who is actually loving and kind?”
The tweet sparked a debate about Christian perceptions in the film industry with nearly 8,000 comments at the time of writing.
However, Wilson later followed up on the comment clarifying that he is “not even a Christian” and mocked the conservative US broadcaster Fox News for covering his view.
“Here’s a couple of funny things about the anti-Christian bias in Hollywood. My opinion tweet was picked up as front page news by @FoxNews. Talk about bias. An organization created as a corporate shill to create division solely for profit based on culture-war outrage. Print that!” Wilson wrote.
He continued: “Of course it’s true that the evangelical/political coalition is doing a great deal of damage to our country. Banning books - banning freedoms - denying inconvenient science, taking a grotesque anti-LGBTQ+ platform…
“But most Christians that I know are kind, accepting and loving and seeking to make the world a better place. They should also be honoured in the media.”
Right-wing outlets and media personalities have taken aim at The Last of Us for featuring multiple LGBT+ storylines in its first season.
The conservative pundit Ben Shapiro was once again derided over his failed screenwriting career after he criticised the HBO drama.
The series’ star Pedro Pascal (Joel) recently shut down a paparazzo who repeatedly questioned him about the show’s LGBT+ themes.
