Former The Office star Rainn Wilson has said there is anti-Christian bias in Hollywood after The Last Of Us episode 8 turned a Bible-reading character into an “ugly bad guy”.
In the episode, main character Ellie encounters a group of survivors led by David (played by Scott Shepherd), a “cannibalistic cult leader who never stops quoting the Bible,” according to the Daily Wire.
Former The Office star Rainn Wilson wrote of the character on Twitter, “I think there’s an anti-Christian bias in Hollywood.
“As soon as David’s character in ‘The Last of Us’ started reading the Bible, I knew he was going to be a horrible villain. Could there be a Bible-reading character on a show that was actually loving and kind?
The tweet comes amid controversy surrounding this year’s Oscars as many criticized the awards for not being ‘diverse enough’ and Best Actress winner Jamie Lee Curtis urged the Academy to consider categories of genderless actors.
Many Twitter users agreed with Mr Wilsons’ tweet, with one saying the ‘defamation of Christianity’ had become one of Hollywood’s main ‘unoriginal and tired’ clichés and another adding that making Christians the bad guy on a show was the norm these days.
Mr Wilson’s My Super Ex-Girlfriend bandmate Stelio Savante agreed with the actor and said he agreed with him “wholeheartedly” and added: “But unfortunately the Christophobia and Christophobic sentiment are alive and well in our industry.”
The popular show, based on a video game of the same name, sees Ellie kill David in self-defense after he tries to rape her.
One commenter pointed out that David wasn’t really a pastor in the video game: “As soon as the pastor started reading the Bible, I knew he was going to be awful.” I was like “look at this guy being David the creepy video game cannibal.” And then it was David. Shocked. Surprised. Never seen before. He was not a video game pastor.
The TV version of David also revealed he was not a Christian, which one Twitter user said was “the most interesting thing about it on the show” from a Christian’s perspective.
Others have also criticized naming the character David. Writer Isaac Goodwin said, “Hollywood doesn’t know how to portray a true follower of Christ.
“Any born-again Christian knows that David was not a true Christian.”
Mr Wilson’s criticism of “anti-Christian bias in Hollywood” may come as a surprise to his followers, as he is an outspoken leftist on Twitter who tweets about topics including climate change awareness.
In November, the 57-year-old changed his name on his social media platforms to “Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson” and explained on Twitter: “As the polar ice caps melt it increases the risk in the world, including extreme weather events that affect us all.
“So as a cheap little stunt to help save planet earth, I changed my name on Twitter, Instagram and even on my fancy stationery…because I’m an arctic hazard name changer, this which is going to be a game changer.
“Our mission at Arctic Basecamp is to raise awareness of the global risks of climate change in the Arctic – this is not just bad news for the Arctic, but also for us.”
“That’s why I changed my name, and you should too – to help tell world leaders and influencers that we need to act now.”
“So I’m contacting you and many people in show business to change your name.”