bye haters!

Oliver Stark has some choice words for any homophobes mad about his gay kiss on ‘9-1-1’

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Image Credit: ‘9-1-1,’ ABC

The latest episode of ABC’s first-responder drama 9-1-1 was a milestone one. Celebrating its 100th, the series featured a splashy crossover with reality romance favorite The Bachelor and gave the long-presumed-straight character Buck (Oliver Stark) a surprise gay kiss.

Guess which of these two plot developments certain “fans” of the show were more upset about…

Titled “Buck, Bothered And Bewildered,” the episode devoted a fair amount of screen time to Buck’s growing jealousy over all the time his longtime BFF Eddie (Ryan Guzman) was spending with their former colleague Tommy (Louis Ferrigno Jr.). After finally working up the courage to confront Tommy, the two have a heartfelt conversation—leading up to one hot firefighter-on-firefighter smooch!

Now, we called it a “surprise” kiss earlier, but as Stark so thoughtfully explained in a number of recent interviews, it wasn’t exactly out of nowhere. Though initially introduced as a bit of a womanizing playboy, 9-1-1 has been subtly hinting that something‘s been off for Buck lately, that he’s been searching for a missing piece of himself.

Did he find that missing something in Tommy? Well, that remains to be seen, but Stark assures fans upcoming episodes will find him coming to terms with his bisexuality in a very honest, impactful way. And, over the message, he shared a message thanking everyone for their support:

“Humbled and overwhelmed by the positive reaction to Buck’s storyline,” Stark wrote on his Instagram Story, responding to the episode’s warm reception. “I’ve read so many of your messages and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Related:

WATCH: This surprise fireman-on-fireman kiss is a seismic event for gay fans of ‘9-1-1’

After months of teasing, ABC’s firs-responder drama finally delivered the goods.

But it wasn’t all positive. Of course, a vocal (but no doubt small) subsection of viewers took issue with the development, and no matter how far backwards they want to bend to try to justify their feelings, we know what it all comes down to: homophobia.

And, honestly, it doesn’t matter what the haters said because Stark shut them down with the perfect response:

“If you are one of the smaller group of people commenting on my posts about how this has ruined the show, I would like you to know that I truly don’t care,” he said in the same Instagram Story post.

Screenshot: Instagram, @oliverstarkk

“This is a show about love and inclusion,” he added. “It’s featured queer relationships from the very beginning including a beautiful Black lesbian marriage played out by two of the best actresses I’ve ever watched”—referring to paramedics Henrietta “Hen” Wilson (Aisha Hinds) and Karen Wilson (Tracie Thoms) who have been part of the show since the very beginning.

To Stark’s point, Buck is far from the only queer character to appear on the series, or on its sister show 9-1-1: Lone Star, which has featured a landmark Black trans-masc character in Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith) and a central gay couple in TK Strand (Ronen Rubinstein) and Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva) since the beginning.

Related:

This ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ hunk has been heating up our screens and making history

Is it hot in here, or is it just Brian Michael Smith?

Which begs the question: Well, Tamar, have you ever watched the show? Are the people who are supposedly upset about Buck’s burgeoning sexuality actually tuning in week after week? Because, if they were, they’d know this storyline wasn’t some out-of-the-blue anomaly.

“If one other character finding a new facet to his sexuality and realizing his bisexuality is your deal breaker—I fear you’ve missed the entire point of the show.” Amen to that!

But Stark saved the best read for last, clocking all of those self-important viewers who think everyone cares that they’ll no longer be watching the show:

“You are not required to announce your departure,” he said in conclusion. Case closed, haters!

Between his embrace of Buck’s queer self-discovery storyline and his no-punches-held response to homophobes, Stark is quickly climbing the ranks of Gay Twitter™’s favorite hunks. Scroll down below to see our favorite tweets of Oliver Stark appreciation:

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