Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson has said some gay viewers of the show criticised him for his “stereotypical” depiction of a gay man.
The 49-year-old played the uptight environmental lawyer Mitchell Pritchett in the much-loved sit-com, which ran from 2009 to 2020.
His character was in a relationship with Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), a stay-at-home dad turned music teacher from Missouri.
Speaking on his Dinner's On Me podcast, Ferguson acknowledged that not all viewers were pleased with the way his character represented queer life and marriage.
“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,” he said.
Ferguson said he always took remarks “with such a grain of salt, because I’m representing one person. I’m in charge of this one character”.
Many Modern Family fans were unhappy over the lack of physical connection seen between Ferguson and Stonestreet’s characters. In 2010, amid the release of the show’s second season, a Facebook campaign was launched demanding that the couple kiss on screen.
In 2014, gay actor Tuc Watkins (One Life to Live; Desperate Housewives) spoke out against the show, stating he found the gay characters “cringe”.
“It feels a little bit like the gay equivalent of Blackface,” he said at the time. “It doesn’t feel modern at all.”
In response, Ferguson, who has been married to actor Justin Mikita since 2013, said: “We can't be expected to represent every gay person. We can only represent these two people. Also, Mitch is basically a version of me... so I never know how to take it when people say that he is stereotypical.”
The actor has stood by his portrayal of Mitchell, telling Dinner's On Me guest Russell Tovey that his Modern Family character “was a shade of who I was”.
He explained: “So, you’re kind of like, if it’s stereotypical, I’m basically playing myself, so I guess, guilty as charged.’”
Last month Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who played Cam and Mitchell’s adopted daughter Lily, came out as bisexual. She delighted fans with the announcement, which she made by quoting a memorable line from Modern Family.
