‘Modern Family’ Star Heard the ‘Loudest’ Criticism From Gay Fans
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson helped to pave the way for LGBTQ+ characters on television, but some people were unhappy with his depiction of Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family.
“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,” the actor, 49, explained during the Tuesday, July 8, episode of his “Dinner’s On Me” podcast, “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.”
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«Rkekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R14ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeFerguson added that he always took the negative commentary “with such a grain of salt because I’m representing one person. I’m in charge of this one character.”
Although some fans were not pleased with his portrayal of Mitchell on Modern Family, Ferguson considered his character to be “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.’”
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Ferguson played Mitchell on the ABC sitcom for 11 seasons from September 2009 to April 2020. The show followed the extended Pritchett family, with Mitchell and his partner, Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), navigating the intricacies of a same-sex relationship while raising their adopted daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons).
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«Rpekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R19ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeDespite some fans’ criticism of the apparent lack of a physical connection between Mitchell and Cam and the alleged perpetuation of stereotypes about gay men, Ferguson received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for his work on the beloved series, and Stonestreet, 53, won two Emmys for his portrayal of Cam. The show also earned two GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2011 and 2012 in addition to nominations for every season.
Off-screen, Ferguson has been married to Justin Mikita since July 2013, and the couple share Beckett, 5, and Sully, 2. Stonestreet, for his part, announced his engagement to Lindsay Schweitzer in August 2021.
‘Modern Family’ Star Heard the ‘Loudest’ Criticism From Gay Fans first appeared on Parade on Jul 8, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
