Storm Reid Calls The Backlash To "The Last Of Us" Queer Representation "Nonsense" — "I Need You To Get Your Priorities Straight"
BuzzFeed
3 min read
The newest episode of The Last of Us was beautiful/sweet/charming/tragic/the most stressful hour of television to date, and fans have had a lot to say about it.
??Spoilers abound in this post, so if you're not caught up, TURN BACK!??
The episode's story follows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in a flashback to her time training to be a FEDRA soldier, and when her BFF Riley (Storm Reid) joins the Fireflies, the two of them go on a wild one-night-only adventure as a way to say goodbye.
HBO
They tromp around an ALLEGEDLY abandoned mall, and if you can get past the feeling of impending doom, then it's a really sweet episode.
HBO
After a few hours riding carousels, playing arcade games, and dancing precariously on glass display cases, the two recognize their feelings for each other and share a sweet, sapphic kiss.
They're literally so precious and I love them sm.
Wellllll, if you're thinking the homophobes got their hackles raised like they did when Episode 3 dropped, then *ding ding ding* you're a winner, baby! It's 2023 and we can't have anything nice.
HBO
But Storm Reid was not having it. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly addressing the backlash, she said, "There's so many other things to worry about in life. Why are you concerned that these young people — or anybody — love each other? Love is beautiful, and the fact that people have things to say about it, it's just nonsense."
"It's 2023. If you're concerned about who I love, then I need you to get your priorities straight."
But she's not letting the haters get her down. "I don't care because I'm proud of what we did and I'm proud of the story that we told and I'm proud of the people that we're representing."
"We are telling important stories. We're telling stories of people's experiences, and that's what I live for. That's what makes good storytelling, because we are telling stories of people who are taking up space in the world."
And representation is something that is at the front of Storm's mind. "I'm not only representing women. I'm representing young Black women and I'm representing young queer women that are experiencing new feelings and new relationships."
"We are on the tightrope of a friendship and having a crush, or is it a crush? Is it just flirtatious energy? There's just so much that goes into the complexity of what the episode is. And furthermore, the complexity of what Ellie and Riley's relationship is I find just so beautiful."