The American actors Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet recently spoke with the Guardian about their eleven-year run on Modern Family—and the backlash they faced because of their characters’ sexual orientation. In the ABC sitcom aired on American television, the two played the gay couple Mitch (Ferguson) and Cam (Stonestreet).
When Mitch and Cam first arrived in 2009 on the show, joining their adopted daughter Lily in the primetime lineup, a gay couple with a child in prime time was still a rarity. That rarity, however, brought sharp criticism: queer viewers as well as critics argued that the couple fought too much or showed too little physical affection.
“Mitch and Cam were a gay couple raising a child on television. That put the microscope on them with an even greater focus, and many of their flaws were exaggerated,” Ferguson explained. “But when you look back now and view the whole picture, you simply see how much love existed between these two people and the family they built.”
Ferguson: Measured by Two Standards
Ferguson also pointed out that the scrutiny came with two different yardsticks: among heterosexual couples like Jay and Gloria, hardly anyone minded the absence of kisses. “But because we were the gay couple, we faced all the criticism,” said the openly gay actor. The series ultimately responded with the legendary episode “The Kiss” (German title: “Krisen, Küsse und Chunchullo”), which addressed Mitchell’s personal discomfort with intimacy and gently resolved the arc.
Direct link | Mitch and Cam’s best moments
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Eric Stonestreet, who is heterosexual, also looks back on the early debates about his casting. Rumors that he didn’t want Ferguson to kiss on camera hurt him at the time: “That was painful and just dumb. I’d previously appeared in the queer cult film ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ and there I kissed a drag queen — so come on, girl!” More than anything, though, the duo wanted to show real, imperfect people who could function outside conventional beauty standards: “We’re hot in our own way,” Stonestreet said with a wink.
Positive Impacts Through Queer Visibility
The deeper impact of their roles became clear to the two actors mainly through fan reactions. Ferguson, who grew up in conservative New Mexico during the 1980s and 90s while still coming out later, emphasized how much he had needed a role model like this: knowing that today you can be the reason others believe that marriage and children are possible for queer people—that is a gift.
Even today, teens still approach Stonestreet on the street to thank him for how much Cam meant to their own coming out—even kids who weren’t born yet when the show first aired.
Even though Modern Family ended in 2020, with Mitch and Cam moving to Missouri, the two stars remain friends to this day. Off-screen, their personas have swapped roles: Stonestreet described himself as the pedantic, anxious Mitch, while Ferguson is easygoing and relaxed like Cam in everyday life. When asked how Cam and Mitch are doing today, Ferguson offered no doubt: he has unwavering faith in their relationship—they are certainly still happily together.
