Jesse Tyler Ferguson has opened up about the criticism he received for his performance onModern Family. Throughout all11 seasons ofModern Family, the 49-year-old actor played Mitchell Pritchett, a Type-A environmental lawyer married to the theatrical Cam (Eric Stonestreet).
However, the depiction of Ferguson’s character wasn’t without its controversy, as the actor recently revealed on his podcast,Dinner’s On Me. Speaking to Russell Tovey,Ferguson, who is gay himself, said that much of the backlash surrounding hisModern Familyperformance came from the gay community.
The Mitch actor knew to expect criticism, given how popularModern Familywas and how many viewers it reached. He expressed that the negative feelings which some LGBTQ+ viewers felt towards him and his character were because he “didn’t represent their idea of… what a gay man was.” See Ferguson’s comment below:
Ferguson: One of the pressures I’ve always felt, specifically after being on a show likeModern Family, where I’m portraying a gay man on a television show, on a network that is as popular as it is, 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.
What The Jesse Tyler Ferguson Criticism Means For Modern Family’s Legacy
Some Of The Backlash Against Mitch & Cam’s Depiction Is Valid, But It’s Still An Important Show
Ferguson isn’t wrong about the criticism against him. One of the most scathing takedowns was from gay actor Tuc Watkins, who referred to Mitch and Cam as “the gay equivalent of blackface.” (viaEW) Othercriticisms stemmed from the fact that Mitch and Cam were much less romantically affectionate thanModern Family’s other two main couples, who are both straight.
However, while it’s a fair judgment that Ferguson and Stonestreet’sModern Familycharacterscould have shown more intimacy, the showaddressed the criticism directly. In season 2, episode 2, “The Kiss,” Cam calls out Mitch’s aversion to public displays of affection, and the story explores that this stems from the closed-off emotional upbringing Mitch received from his father.
Modern Familyhas also been universally praised by many members of the LGBTQ+ community, withFerguson being one of the only out gay actors playing a gay character in a network sitcom at the time. The show won two back-to-back GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2011 and 2012, and was nominated for the honor a total of 10 times.
The sitcom’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community is still largely felt today. ActressAubrey Anderson-Emmons, who played Mitch and Cam’s adopted daughter Lily, recently came out as bisexual on Instagram, using audio from aModern Familyseries in which her toddler character insists she’s gay. Anderson-Emmons' text in the video reads, “People keep joking so much abt me being gay when I literally am (I’m bi).”
Our Take On Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Modern Family Performance
He Completely Made Mitchell Pritchett His Own
When Tuc Watkins criticized Ferguson and Stonestreet’s performances, the Mitch actor issued a classy reply, saying that hisModern Familycharacter is basically a version of himself. He echoed this sentiment in hisDinner’s On Mepodcast: “[Mitch] 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.'”
While some, like Watkins, take issue with Ferguson’s depiction of Mitchell Pritchett,plenty of people also find him to be wholly authentic and layered, so it’s unsurprising that the actor put so much of himself into the character. Mitch never fails to make us laugh with his frantic, nervous energy and his sweet, opposites-attract dynamic with the more boisterous Cam.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for playing Mitch inModern Family, while Eric Stonestreet won the prize twice for playing Cam.
As we see inModern Family’s best Mitch episodes, there’s real trauma behind a lot of the character’s antics. However, the show never makes him a tragic gay man.Modern Familyis a series that celebrates and is full of LGBTQ+ joy, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s performance is a big part of that.
