Jesse Tyler Ferguson Says 'Modern Family' Role Made Him Feel 'Protected' From Homophobia
Jesse Tyler Ferguson opened up about how starring in Modern Family changed the public’s perception of him and his sexuality.
The 48-year-old actor played Mitchell Pritchett, a gay character who is married to Cam (Eric Stonestreet), on the hit sitcom, which aired from 2009 until 2020.
During a recent interview, he explained that he felt “protected” from homophobia in public after appearing in the show.
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While on the Dinner’s on Me podcast, Jesse recalled being “gay bashed” once in Las Vegas before the show aired.
“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,” he explained of the situation, via Deadline.
After the show went on air, he said that he returned to Vegas and remembered “feeling that same negativity initially.”
“But then they would see who it was and they would recognize me from being, ‘Oh, I am gay, but I’m also that gay one from TV and I like that show,’ and there would be a change,” he said.
Jesse described it as “some weird superpower” that made him feel “protected.”
“It kind of 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,” he said, adding that he felt “really weird” about it at first.