The Last Of Us has been nominated for Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, but the kiss they chose from the HBO series has caused outrage.
Every year the MTV Movie Awards hands its Best Kiss trophy to a film and TV smooch. Previous winners in the category include Moonlight and Love, Simon.
Sure, it’s not the Emmys, but the kiss that MTV has picked from the post-apocalyptic survival drama has left fans baffled, uncomfortable and discussing the definition of the word “best”.
During episode two, Tess (Australian actress Anna Torv) saves protagonists Bella and Joel from certain death.
Tess sacrifices herself in order to kill a group of mutants hunting the last of the survivors.
And she spends her last moments alive getting snogged against her will by a mutated “Stalker” (played by Philip Prajoux), orally infecting her with the fungus that’s ravaged the planet.
But just one episode later, Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett played a gay couple who share a tearjerking same-sex love story. When it dropped, people praised that episode as one of the best in TV history.
And later on, Bella Ramsey’s Ellie also explores her first romance with friend Riley (Storm Reid) in episode seven.
The kiss that the MTV Movie Awards chose? The kiss between Tess and the Stalker, which series creator Craig Mazin told Variety was crafted to be “disturbing” as all hell.
‘Um, most traumatising kiss’
Sure, we’re not talking about the Emmys here. But The Last of Us fans have blasted the shocking snub as “shock jock bulls__t” and “baffling”.
“Can’t imagine anything in the world I care less about than the MTV Movie Award nominations for Best Kiss,” one person tweeted. “Though I do have to say the decision to include *that* kiss from The Last of Us over either of the two that involve gay characters made me literally laugh out loud in public.”
“That’s just homophobia and shock jock bullshit, I’m not even joking,” one fan tweeted.
“BEST KISS? Um most traumatising kiss,” someone added.
tess and the stalker sa being nominated for best kiss when THESE exist in tlou is so baffling to me,,, https://t.co/F4t3Avk3Px pic.twitter.com/o3nC6iQgaC
— ann // the last of us spoilers (@quandromache) April 5, 2023
OVER THESE?! pic.twitter.com/dFd5tamDw2
— ً (@HailEternal) April 5, 2023
Guess which of these moments from The Last of Us was nominated for the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Award for ‘Best Kiss’. pic.twitter.com/Ql3uHHF9sC
— Erwin Vogelaar (@ErwinVogelaar) April 6, 2023
At the very least, it’s an award nomination for Australian star Anna Torv.
Anna being nominated for best kiss at the MTV awards for the last of us is truly the most hilarious thing I’ve seen today
— Charlie (@gayannatorv) April 5, 2023
And to be fair, in the same category, The Last of Us is up against some other queer pashes.
Harry Styles and David Dawson’s smooch in My Policeman is nominated and so is Selena Gomez and Cara Delevingne’s in Only Murders in the Building.
HBO has previously confirmed that The Last of Us is returning for a second season. The series is based on the hit video game series of the same name.
The Last of Us is streaming in Australia on Binge.
Read next: Gay love story in The Last of Us leaves people in tears
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