Jesse Tyler Ferguson on how his ‘Modern Family’ role was a “weird superpower” against homophobes

I had been in Las Vegas a few years earlier [pre-Modern Family], and I sort of got gay bashed a little bit. This was before… 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.

I went [back] after Modern Family, and I remember 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.

And it was really weird. Your initial [feeling] was disgust. Like, let’s process this.

But also there was this like some weird superpower that I felt like I was being protected by this role that I was also playing, and 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.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson discussing on his Dinner With Me podcast about how his gay character on ‘Modern Family’ protected him from homophobes IRL.