The Emmy Awards reward America’s “Modern” acceptance of gay TV characters
“The 64th Primetime Emmys” aired on Sunday night, and the broadcast featured a number of out gay celebrities and comedy clips.
The first award given was for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Several of the actors from “Modern Family” were nominated, including Ed O’Neill and his gay TV son, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. The winning actor, however, was Eric Stonestreet, who plays Ferguson’s onscreen partner. While accepting his award, Stonestreet thanked Ferguson. He said of their gay characters, “There would be no Cam without Mitch.” Stonestreet went on to talk about the opportunity of playing those characters for an American TV audience, then joked:
“I never knew I’d be on TV as a gay man, but I love the pictures of hairy chests you guys are sending me. It’s really amazing. Thank you for those.”
A separate comedy skit centered around Mitch and Cam’s TV daughter, Lily, played by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons. The 5-year-old actress was portrayed as a monster on the set. She insulted the cast, made them fall down and, at one point, taunted Ferguson about his marriage rights. She was shown holding a Chick-fil-A-style sandwich while asking Ferguson what he was going to be eating at his upcoming wedding.
Before the show, Ferguson and his fiancé, Justin Mikita, talked to “Access Hollywood” about their engagement. With mock indignance, he said their good news had been quickly upstaged by co-star Sofia Verga’s engagement announcement.
Ferguson took a moment to promote a line of bowties he and Makita had created for The Tie Bar, with proceeds from sales going toward marriage equality. Mikita added that the two of them were waiting to make arrangements for their wedding, and both said they did not know when the official date would be. Ferguson later tweeted a picture with Mikita, saying: “I DID win! Look at my prize!”
Other notable gay celebs in attendance included Ellen Degeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, and Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory.”
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