(CNN) — The Last of Us has its fans and, of course, its critics.
Actress Storm Reid shared her opinion on something that has drawn the ire of some viewers of the HBO drama: its portrayal of same-sex relationships.
The 19-year-old star spoke to EW about the homophobic backlash following Episode 3, which focused on the love story between characters Bill, played by Nick Offerman, and Frank, played by Murray Bartlett.
Reid appears in Episode 7 as Riley, who has his own gay love affair with co-star Bella Ramsey on the show.
“Like Bella said when episode 3 came out, if you don’t like it, don’t watch it,” Reid told EW. “We tell important stories. We tell people’s experiences, and that’s what I live for. That’s what good storytelling does, because we tell stories of people taking up space in the world.”
Referring to his own history on the show, Reid said, “This is 2023. If you’re worried about who I love, you need to get your priorities straight.”
“There are so many other things in life to worry about,” he said. “Why do you care that these young people – or anyone else – love each other? Love is beautiful and the fact that people have something to say about it doesn’t make sense.”
The Last of Us is based on a popular video game of the same name. HBO and CNN are part of Warner Bros. Discovery.