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Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s dad once asked him why he has played “so many gay parts”The TV star portrayed Mitchell Pritchett, an openly gay character, on Modern Family from 2009 to 2020″It was one thing for him to accept me being gay quietly, but it was another thing for me then to be doing that on a major network,” he said of his past TV role
Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s dad once questioned the roles he takes on.
The Modern Family alum, 49, shared on the May 13 episode of his Dinner’s on Me podcast that his dad asked him why he had played “so many gay parts” as he was starring in the hit ABC sitcom.
“My family, they went through their own process with me being gay,” Ferguson said on the podcast. “My dad even asked me, while I was doing Modern Family, he’s like, ‘I just don’t always understand why you have played so many gay parts.’ It opened up a whole conversation between the two of us, and started a whole other level of our relationship.”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet on ‘Modern Family’.
Tony Rivetti/Getty
The actor continued to share that he explained to his dad “why it was important for me to play this role. Because, socially, I wanted to be able to portray a gay man on television. I felt like it was gonna do wonderful things for the marriage equality movement, which it did.”
Ferguson was already out as gay to his family at the time. However, his exposure on the comedy series brought on new concerns for this dad. “It was one thing for him to accept me being gay quietly, but it was another thing for me then to be doing that on a major network,” the actor said, acknowledging that “there are steps of acceptance.”
The TV star played Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family, which aired from 2009 to 2020 for 11 seasons. His character was married to Eric Stonestreet’s Cam Tucker, and they shared two kids. The show, among others that depicted LGBTQ+ relationships at the time, was credited for ushering in a wave of acceptance for same-sex marriage, per a 2012 poll conducted by The Hollywood Reporter.
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In an August 2024 episode of Dinner’s on Me, Ferguson spoke about how he was perceived differently following his role on the show.
Looking back at his life before joining the show, he said, “I went to Las Vegas, and I had been in Las Vegas a few years earlier, and I sort of got gay bashed a little bit. It wasn’t anything violent, but it was definitely like, there was negative energy coming at me from a couple that felt uncomfortable around me and my then-boyfriend.”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson attends the afterparty for ‘Dracula: A Comedy Of Terrors’ on March 17, 2025 in London.
Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty
But after Modern Family, everything seemed to change. “And then years later I went after Modern Family, and I remember feeling that same negativity initially, but then they would see who it was, and they would recognize me from being, I am gay, but I’m also that gay one from TV,” he continued.
Ferguson went on to say playing Mitchell “gave me this coat of armor, and I had this protection of being this character that people also loved. I don’t know. It was really weird.”
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The Cocaine Bear actor told PEOPLE in 2018 that he came out to his parents after being caught attempting to shoplift gay porn while he was in high school.
“My mom and dad saw the nature of the material I was stealing, and that’s how I came out,” he said. “I find it funny now, but at the time it was incredibly traumatizing. Ironically, my father still had a hard time catching up. I snuck some straight porn in there too, so that threw him off just enough.”
Ferguson is now married to producer Justin Mikita, with whom he shares two kids.
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