Jesse Tyler Ferguson Opens Up about Gay Audience Critiques of His 'Modern Family' Role

"Modern Family" alum Jesse Tyler Ferguson played a gay dad and husband for 11 seasons on the ABC sitcom. Great representation, right?

Not according to some in the LGBTQ+ audience, Ferguson revealed on the latest episode of his "Dinner's On Me" podcast, Entertainment Weekly reported.

The outlet relayed that Ferguson "weathered a good deal of criticism" for how his character, Mitchell, was depicted. On the July 8 edition of the podcast, the actor recalled to fellow out actor Russell Tovey how "the criticism that I think I heard the loudest was always from the gay community, feeling as if, maybe, I didn't represent their idea of what a gay relationship was, or a gay man was."

CNN detailed that Ferguson went on to add that he "always took [the criticism] with such a grain of salt because I'm representing one person, I'm in charge of this one character."

Added the actor: "How can you be everything for everyone?"

EW recalled that "Modern Family" came in for criticism for seeming to play it safe when it came to how affection between Mitchell and his husband, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) was portrayed... or rather, wasn't portrayed. The series seemed to shy away even from anything as mild as a kiss between the two men until viewers demanded something more realistic.

That demand, EW said, led to "an episode called 'The Kiss,' which rooted the absence of a physical connection between Mitchell and Cam in the former's emotionally remote upbringing."

The series was in the middle of its 11-season run, EW noted, when openly gay actor Tuc Watson offered an unflattering assessment of the show's gay characters, saying, "I kinda cringe" rather than laughing. "It doesn't feel 'modern' at all," Watson opined.

In the latest podcast episode, Ferguson told Tovey that the character of Mitchell "was a shade of who I was, so, you're kind of like, 'If it's stereotypical, I'm basically playing myself, so I guess, guilty as charged.'"