Jesse Tyler Ferguson, a co-star on the
ABC comedy Modern Family, says conservatives tell him the show
has changed their minds on gay marriage.
Ferguson, who plays Mitchell, and Eric
Stonestreet, who plays Cameron, are one of the three couples featured
on the Wednesday night comedy. On the show, the two men are in a
committed relationship and raising their adopted daughter Lily.
Ferguson, who is openly gay, told the
Winnipeg
Free Press that conservatives have embraced the gay TV
couple.
“It's shocking isn't it [that gay
characters are being embraced]? But also very encouraging. I was
prepared for these characters to have a bit of a backlash and it's
sort of been the exact opposite. Conservatives come up to us saying,
'You've changed my mind about gay marriage,' or, 'I relate to Cameron
and Mitchell and find them very enjoyable and now I'm looking at Bob
and Joe down the street and wondering how they're different.' We
have gay couples coming up to us, obviously, and saying, 'Thank you
so much for being on TV,' or, 'My daughter has someone to point to
and say, 'That family is just like mine.'”
Ferguson added that coming out was
never an issue for him: “I never felt in so it didn't feel like it
was terribly difficult to be out.”
Modern Family returns for its
third season on September 21.