Gay Viewers Called Out Jesse Tyler Ferguson Over ‘Modern Family’ Stereotypes

Jesse Tyler Ferguson played Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family for 11 years, starting back in 2009. At the time, he was one of a few gay characters on a primetime network show, alongside his on-screen husband Cam, played by Eric Stonestreet. In a new episode of his Dinner’s On Me podcast, Ferguson revealed that the representation wasn’t universally celebrated, especially within the gay community. 

“One of the pressures I’ve always felt, specifically after being on a show like Modern Family, where I’m portraying a gay man on a television show, on a network that is as popular as it is,” Ferguson explained, “you receive criticism, as you do, with anything you do, but the criticism that I think I heard the loudest was always from the gay community, feeling as if, maybe, I didn’t represent their idea of what a gay relationship was, or a gay man was.”

This isn’t new information. Back in 2010, there was a Facebook campaign formed in response to the lack of intimacy between Mitchell and Cam, pushing for the pair to have an on-screen kiss. Throughout the show’s decade-long tenure, there were other incidents where the relationship between Cam and Mitchell was heavily criticized — often called stereotypical and sometimes even offensive. Through the years, Ferguson has always maintained that he was playing a version of himself on television, and that his character wasn’t meant to be an exact representation for an entire community. 

It’s his response now, too. On his podcast, Ferguson said his character “also was a shade of who I was, so, you’re kind of like, ‘If it’s stereotypical, I’m basically playing myself, so I guess, guilty as charged.'"

Ferguson explained that it wasn’t unexpected to get negative feedback, but it was just the most vocal criticism coming from one specific place. Still, he didn’t let that temper his own interpretation of Mitchell or spend too much time dwelling on it. “I always took it with such a grain of salt ‘cause it’s like I'm representing one person, I’m in charge of this one character.” 

Overall, the show was considered a smashing success, which is also a good balm for criticism. Ferguson won five Emmys for his performance, and the show won GLAAD awards in 2011 and 2012. Plus, Modern Family’s LGBTQ legacy still lives on today. In fact, just last month, Ferguson’s on-screen adopted daughter Lily, portrayed by Aubrey Frances Anderson-Emmons, came out as bisexual using her own iconic line from the show: “I’m gay! I’m gay!”