Eric Stonestreet says he refused to
pose with Rick Santorum because of the politician's anti-gay
rhetoric.
Stonestreet has earned two Emmy Awards
for playing gay dad Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern
Family. In the show's season 5 finale, Stonestreet's character
married Mitchell (played by out actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson).
Appearing on HuffPost
Live this week, Stonestreet discussed an incident at the
White House Correspondents Dinner.
“Rick Santorum wanted a picture with
me,” Stonestreet said. “It was at a time when he was publicly
saying, 'Gay marriage, gay marriage [is wrong],' and I'm like, 'You
know, I can't do it.'”
“It was with him and his kids or
something like that, and I said, 'I'd be happy to take a picture with
the kids, but I can't just be in a picture with [Santorum].'”
During the 2012 presidential campaign,
Santorum was among the GOP candidates who signed a National
Organization for Marriage (NOM) pledge to oppose marriage equality
and, if elected, promise to back an amendment to the U.S.
Constitution defining marriage as a heterosexual union.
On the campaign trail, Santorum
frequently discussed his opposition to same-sex marriage, comparing
it to a paper towel during an Iowa Falls campaign stop, blaming
it for the
wrecked economy, and suggesting supporters
don't respect him.
(Related: Eric
Stonestreet: Michael Sam, Jason Collins' coming out gay impacting
society.)