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Out actor Tuc Watkins has hard time laughing at “Modern Family” gay couple Cam and Mitch

Eric Stonestreet has won two Emmys for his performance as Cam on ABC’s Modern Family while Jesse Tyler Ferguson has been nominated for each of the first five seasons as Mitchell.

But not everyone is crazy about Cam and Mitch who got married in a two-part episode at the end of last season.

One of those people is actor Tuc Watkins who played one half of a gay couple for several years on ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

Watkins, who came out publicly last year, shared his feelings about the characters in a Facebook post on Thursday: ‘Hmm. I think “Modern Family” is clever, hilarious, even terrifically subtle at times. But, for the most part, I have a hard time laughing at the gay guys. In fact, I kinda cringe. It feels a little bit like the gay equivalent of “blackface.” It doesn’t feel “modern” at all.’

‘Sure, people come in all shapes, sizes, etc. So why are we fed such 80s stereotypes every week?’

Watkins, best known for his many years on the daytime soap One Life to Live, currently has a recurring role on the MTV series Awkward.

FILE UNDER: Television

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)

99 Remarks

  1. I agree with Tuc. Watching MF with friends leaves me feeling ashamed (I’ve been out&proud all my life). Dont see anything funny or engaging in pair of saccharinesweet panicking clumsy men

  2. Tuc should go back and review desperate housewives…the writers on that show made them so steroetypical. The partner was over the top while Tuc played the “straight” gay. And the way they handled the gay kid wasn’t much better. Bravo to ABC for putting out a much better show so many years later

  3. how THE ENTIRE HELL would be know what blackface feels like? Don’t do that. You have the pleaser of being a gay white male. You have no clue what black feels like. At least they cast gay actors to play in Moderm Family. Blackface was used when black people weren’t good enough to play themselves on a screen or stage with white people. I can’t take this argument seriously anymore.

  4. “Shapes, sizes, etc.” really?

  5. Cam and Mitch being gay is “modern” because their families are very accepting and loving of them no matter what. Even their dads have learned to become accepting and I think that shows how “modern” it is. People are becoming more accepting of gays! Also, Cam and Mitch are breaking down stereotypes while being completely aware of the gay stereotypes. I think the best part of them is when they catch them selves living up to a “gay stereotype”. It is hilarious! Bringing up stereotypes isn’t a bad thing. I am gay, I have no problem with it. It’s hilarious for me to watch.
    There is a new show called Blackish which the main character Dre tries to breakdown stereotypes too! There is no difference in what these shows are doing. Modern Family and Blackish are both showing how times have changed and people are becoming more accepting. Both of these shows are bringing up stereotypes and knocking them right down.

  6. I don’t see “Mitch & Cam” as 80’s stereotypes at all. The comment doesn’t make sense to me. All I know is my husband & I love Modern Family & all of the characters on the show. As someone commented earlier Tuc & his partner on Desperate Housewives were characters who were not front & center but Mitch & Cam are very much front & center on Modern Family. And as Jessie Tyler Ferguson mentioned the characters Tuc & his tv partner played probably helped to open that door. I thank him for that too! Bringing a diverse group of characters front & center on TV is a big accomplishment. Modern Family is such a great show with great actors & great writers. Maybe Mitch & Cams characters will cause some less open minded individuals to be more open minded.

  7. First thing, everyone needs to stop trying to be haters and say that he’s jealous. He was on one of the longest running soap operas for many years and on a very famous show for a long time as well as well as countless others and on is a show right now, compared to many people that are on a show that’s a big deal now who were never heard of before that. He’s being honest when asked an honest question. As a gay man I know exactly how he feels, there is something in the writing and performance of those two characters that is dated and awkward that makes me not watch the show. It just feels uncomfortable. I really hope Americans don’t have to be pandered to that way to be entertained. I really do think things can be upgraded a notch.

  8. i too feel that the gay couple are the weakest characters in the show. They represent the worst of gay life. I am often embarrassed by their attitudes and actions. They are mean, petty and don’t express the fun that Phil does or Gloria and others. For Cam and Mitchell everything is a problem.

  9. December 21st, 2014 at 9:10 am
    David Travis says:

    And remember, this is just ONE example of a gay couple. There’s something for everyone, and enough to go around. If you want something different, try another show. TV gets GAYER by the minute.

  10. The real issue is non-gays playing gay.

    This isn’t the ’90s where people need to be afraid of being gay. Most of Hollywood is run by gays behind-the-scenes and almost every show/movie has a gay character. Why is it though that almost every “gay” on the screen is a non-gay in real life?

    It’s disgusting how little respect gay people get yet they don’t say or do a thing about it, especially in an industry that is suppose to be all about equality. Hollywood is the most hypocritical and prejudice industry around yet the most vocal in telling America how to live.

  11. Mr. Watkins – I agree with JTF, ChrisP and JLF. MF is a fun twist on lots of stereotypes including Colombians, Realtors and teenagers….not mean spirited AND oh so funny. There are way bigger battles to be fought.

  12. I don’t just see them as a gay couple, I see them as a couple who has ups and downs. I see them as a loving and funny couple. It’s a sitcom so jokes will be written for all the characters. I appreciate the show and have quite a few laughs watching it.

  13. I think this is the best sitcom to come along since the classics of MTM, All in the Family and others……so brilliant in each way: writing, acting, directing, filming. Stereotypes are such because they do ring true; at the same time, the show defies them almost simultaneously as Mr. Ferguson has written about Cam. We should celebrate the amazing variation found within the LGBTQ community. I howl with laughter at some of the episodes when the couple get together with Pepper and friends. They are accurate !

  14. Anytime Modern Family comes on I have to shut off the TV, Cam and Mitch absolutely set my teeth on edge. I have to absolutely agree that this is a modern day black face. The portrayal is a go to among Hollywood because of the age old stereotypes. I realize that the characters aren’t meant to be a representation of the entire gay community, but it is still detrimental as it stands as yet another pair of over the top stereotypical characters. It is exactly this sort of thing that makes it hard to be an out professional in a straight dominated and highly heteronormative career setting.

  15. Thank God Tuc so perfectly captured EVERY gay person and could stay away from stereotypes. What a tremendous accomplishment. While still being closeted. Maybe give Mitch and Cam a break.

  16. I agree with Tuc…. You don’t have to be extremely gay to be funny!

  17. December 21st, 2014 at 1:04 pm
    Gerry Fisher says:

    I’ve seen conversations about this recently, and I think several topics get mixed up: bristling over stereotypes versus a dislike of a certain kind of LGBT person. I’m a gay man, I’m cool with things such as gender queer folks, effeminacy, camp, and drag, though my style is more “bear jock.” Having said that, I can’t *stand* “queens” and “divas,” that high drama, high maintenance, mean-spirited wit, and over-the-top need to hog the spot light.

    Now, Cam isn’t mean, but he’s a big queen, and I find him annoying; I could *never* partner with someone like Cam without ending up killing him. Mitch, on the other hand, is a bit neurotic and OCD, but I find him “quirky” and OK as opposed to annoying. All in all, they aren’t my favorite gay couple on TV, but they are “common,” and I have no trouble chuckling at their foibles.

    In my opinion, part of LGBT progress is feeling secure enough to allow same-sex couples be shown in a less-than-perfect light and to be able to laugh at them and ourselves. We should be able to call out an overbearing queen within our community without being a “traitor to the cause,” and we should be able to depict an overbearing queen–especially in a comedy–without the community trying to suppress it as stereotype.

    Cam’s not a stereotype. He’s an overbearing, overly self absorbed pain in the butt.

  18. Minus clown my husband and I can be seen as very Mitch and Cam. Sometimes we are over the top and sometimes we are very laid back and boring. Entertain takes a piece of reality and then blows it up to keep our interest. I have never crindged at anything on Modern Family. However more than once I have looked at my husband and said that is so you. He has done the same. I can’t speak for everyone but I am thankful for being represented on such a popular show. Good for Modern Family for showing a loving gay family who are hardworking loving and yes flawed. Without those flaw there would be no humor then no one would watch.

  19. Bob and Lee were body-image-obsessed, partier, socialite, bitchy-to-a-fault gay stereotypes on Desperate Housewives, and it actually nauseates me to read Tuc complaining about the portrayal of gay men on Modern Family. I know which gay couple *I’d* rather be friends with and have in my life, and they don’t live on Wisteria Lane.

  20. Give me a break. Did he cringe at Will & Grace, Queer as Folk, The L Word, etc.. Stereotypes as he says are based on real people’s actions and mannerisms. And the decade is irrelevant. Tuc knows full well he’d leap at the opportunity to play either roll!
    As a television sitcom two versions of Will is not funny, but add a slightly more dramatic character to balance each other. As an ACTOR he should know that diversity in characters is real life. Not Tuc’s version of how gay should be portrayed. His comments are meant to bring attention to himself, keep his name in circulation, and try and seem relevant. Instead of attacking characters built by talented actors one gay and one straight, how about celebrating the fact that two gay characters are so accepted and celebrated.

  21. BLACKFACE? How stupid are you people? Blackface was originally created during the days of segregation when African Americans weren’t allowed on TV or in media. In its origin it wasn’t meant as a derogatory racist thing. Blackface was also Caucasian people with overly exaggerated facial features and black paint on their faces. In no way does that outdated racists form of entertainment compare to gay characters playing their own races, genders, etc.. They are not characters played by two straight men making fun of their ideas of what HOMO’s act like.
    Let’s discuss contemporary Hollywood BLACKFACE, movies and television shows where Asian characters are played by Hispanic actors/actresses. Johnny Depp playing a Native American, Angelina Jolie being considered to play Pocahontas, minority actors being told they’re not playing ethnic enough.
    So yes please compare two gay characters in a blockbuster show to a racist form of entertainment. And while your at it please compare birth videos to child porn.

  22. Mitch and Cam are by far my most favorite characters on Modern Family – and that’s exactly what they are: characters!! I have watched the show since episode 1 and have not missed one since it began. Jesse couldn’t have summed it up better – you can’t please everyone! I’m sure there are people who aren’t crazy about Claire, Phil, etc – who cares?! As a huge Desperate Housewives fan, I’m sad to hear these comments.

  23. Perhaps Tuc is still struggling with his own insecurities. I know I don’t always think drag queens are funny. They’re over the top. It doesn’t represent me as a person but it does represent a select group. We aren’t all made the same way. Some are masculine, some are more feminine. All of that said, it is frustrating when the only elements of gay events, such as Pride, are the outrageous. There are many of us who are just average people who don’t have to be extreme just because we are gay.

  24. Left out: only gay events that receive media attention… Are the outrageous…

  25. I think it’s sad that gay culture has supposedly progressed to the point that gay men who probably describe themselves as “straight acting” condemn “gay acting” gay men as being the equivalent of black face. I remember a gay culture that celebrated difference and independence and that culture would NEVER have been called narrow minded. Not so nowadays when part of gay culture has decided that blending in and being inconspicuous among straights is more important than self expression. Acting gay used to mean you were unafraid.

  26. Totally agree.

    It’s like when gay men play gay men on TV. They’re almost always act way more gay then they are in real life.

    I call it the “Big Brother Affect.” The general American viewing TV audience can only handle their gay guy characters as flamboyant and nonthreatening. Your typical housewife and husband can’t deal with the attractive, self confident gay man. The housewife would feel threatened and the husband would feel turned on.

  27. December 21st, 2014 at 10:51 pm
    Gerard Salvador says:

    As a contemporary of Jesse Tyler Ferguson who grew up in a world watching Billie Joe McAllister jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge or Montgomery’s descent in Fame, I can only say how envious I am of the young gay youth across America who are watching Modern Family on prime time network television (and now in syndication).
    Mitch and Cam are showing our new young gay youth a facet of a world that I never thought a normal accepted lifestyle.
    I grew up a very impressionable gay adolecent in the height of the early AIDS epidemic and was very scarred by comments and musings that adults presented before me during that time.
    Modern Family is bringing forward tales of truth, love, understanding and yes mishaps that happen in everyone’s everyday lives in the form of a situation comedy. Would one argue about Lucy working in a chocolate factory or selling Vitameatavegamin?
    No, Mitch and Cam are not every gay man but they are men I have met, loved and still cherish.
    I applaud the actors and writers of this show for showing America a wildy diverse world I wish I was exposed to when I was young.

  28. I laugh all the time at Cam and Mitchell. Sure they are characters but they ALL (cast) are. I mean, neurotic Claire, clownish but lovable Phil and Sophia…a Latina caricature for sure. But if the showed them changing diapers, fighting to get Lily dressed in the morning and watching cartoons with her, who would want to watch that? Like all the characters on that show they are exaggerations of bits of truth we see in people. At least I recognize it from gay couples I know.

  29. These people exist. Stop being bigoted against gays who happen to be effeminate. It’s really self-loathing.

  30. Same problem with Big Bang theory. Those are some stereotypical nerds

  31. I love Modern Family and enjoy all of the characters. I think of Cam & Mitch as simply two people who are who they are, regardless of sexual preference. I also really liked the two characters that played a gay couple on Desperate Housewives. They were simply great real people who were also very funny. And gay, but who cares? Perhaps the issue here is that not everyone is fully comfortable with “the issue”, whether they themselves are straight or gay. The fact that it’s even mentioned is quite interesting and positive, in my opinion.

  32. Watkins has been out for years, actually. I think since he did the indie, “I Think I Do,” but certainly since his DH stint.

    He has a point – Cam is a bit of a minstrel show (Stonestreet being straight makes that a bit more on the nose). And the “It’s just a sitcom” argument has been floating around for years, specifically for Will & Grace. But actually Ferguson balances that pretty well.

    I personally enjoy the show, but I get where he’s coming from.

  33. When Modern Family debuted in 2009, I thought it was just going to use its characters to embody stereotypes and display the show’s attempt at broad humor: 1)the hot, trophy wife married to the sugar daddy, 2)the gay married couple with all their foibles, and 3)the other straight married couple with the three kids and all their assigned traits.

    In its 6 seasons, I feel that the writers of Modern Family have done well to showcase a different kind of humor from what I thought it was going to mine over the course of the show’s run on network television. It’s rather good and funny subversive humor. Is it Brechtian satire? No, but its exploration of stereotypes actually turns them upside down, nonetheless.

    Beyond the funny lines and funny situations, the writers may want the audience to think about why stereotypes still exist today and why, for a [Western] society that is deemed to be progressive, we still have instant recognition of these stereotypes. Further, the writers may suggest that stereotypes are ultimately reductive, that they should be transcended. I think the show gives credit to its audience for having a sense of humor and, more importantly, for being able to discern that each character is greater than the sum of its parts.

  34. I kind of have to agree with Tuc. As a gay man, I don’t watch Modern Family but was a fan of Will & Grace. I do believe these shows were meant for a cross over audience, gay and straight because straight people ‘like’ and prefer gay people to act..well gay, as in stereotype. Anything other than flamboyancy, the straight fans of these shows get turned off. Desperate Housewives gay characters were not flamboyant enough, thus they stayed in the background (after all, the show was about housewives), but another great show which I liked was Brothers & Sisters, a serious role for a gay couple (Kevin and Scotty), but they were not flamboyant enough and the straight half of the audience lost interest, the show was cancelled, not with an ending. When we lose the gay stereotype in TV, movies, the ‘fun’ goes away for the audience, specifically the straight ones, and that is who producers, writers try to appease. The failing soap opera’s are proof of this, One Life To Live and All My Children finally had serious gay character roles without the stereotype before being axed by the network. The ‘normalcy’ of gays, especially, gay men, seem to make straight people uncomfortable, the stereotype is all they know. I would highly recommend Where The Bears Are (You Tube series) to the straight people who really want to know a part of the gay community. This series will probably never make it to network TV because the characters are ‘normal’ and not a written stereotype.

  35. Am I the only one not to target Mitch-Cam as gay, Phil-Claire as etero, Gloria-Jay as etero? They’re a couple. FULL STOP. I don’t care if they’re male-male, woman-male, woman-woman or whatever. Just like I am engaged/married to my partner they are to each other.

    Tuc has probably forgotten, since the series is over since a while, how was his partner in the series? He wasn’t exactly a macho man all of a piece not going around freaking out and screaming high. I believe that ERIC STONESTREET is doing a terrific job and I’ve had a bestfriend for 15 years to be just like him, easily in panic, high voice tones and sparkling floreal shirts and I found him absolutely unique and awesome (or I wouldn’t have been friend to him for 15 years!).

    And to whoever is the one who said ‘The problem is non-gay people to play gay-characters!’ so I assume that Matt Bomer is doing a terrible job playing in anything that it doesn’t involve being gay? It’s a kind of speech of such mental closure that I’m disgusted and scared being a human in this century.

    Perhaps, Mr. Tuc should feel a little less touchy for his sexuality and just enjoy it for the best in his life.

    It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, not gay, lesbian, black, white, yellow, jewish, christian or whatever else. We are just humans, living in the same place (and some of us not because they wanted to) and we should possibly share much love to each other, instead of chriticizing and accusing each other.

  36. Tuc, you obviously do not know many gay people. As a married gay couple of 23 years we have many friends that are just like Mitch. And as a strong football player of 9 years growing up I also relate to Cam. Your comments are what is wrong with gay community. Your bigoted comments keep us separated within our community. There are all types of gay people and until we all respect our own differences within our community we will never get the respect from outside of our community.

  37. I think Mr Tuc has to be aware that the comedy of the show comes from how funny the situations are, how the nuances of these characters influence the world they live in, and not as a result of the “gayness” of the characters. The show is an archetype, and this is because of the unique characters that are placed in show’s universe. You can’t exactly expect all the the gay community to be represented by two homosexual characters on the show (although, I could argue that the writers did a great job doing that anyway, with the episodes that featured other homosexual characters). Mitch and Cam are not prototypes of what gay people are, they are just representation of Mitch and Cam.

  38. I think Tuc is just jealous of the show’s (and the actor’s) success.

    His gay role just didn’t achieve the cultural resonance that Cam and Mitch have achieved. Mainly due to the fact his character was boring and flat.

    Modern Family is an over-the-top comedy, and the characters support that goal. In fact, they do it very well.

  39. December 23rd, 2014 at 9:02 am
    Robb C. Sewell says:

    I’ve long been a fan of Tuc’s, going way back to his days on “One Life to Live.” But I have to admit that I find his comments quite intriguing and, dare I say, hypocritical. Just recently, Tuc was a member of the cast of the web series “Where the Bears Are.” If I remember correctly, “Where the Bears Are” also featured “80s stereotypes,” including a flamboyant gay airline attendant. Why malign “Modern Famiily” yet appear on a series that seemingly perpetuates the same “stereotypes” you criticize?

  40. I love Cam and Mitch and Eric and Jesse. Mostly I think, because they are not stereotypical in one very important way: They seem incredibly average. They do not seem like “Typical Hollywood” people at all. I like Tuc as well, but find his rugged good looks to be somewhat intimidating, and could be described, in a sense, as a stereotype of the kinds of men Hollywood has been portraying to the world for the past 80 years. Rock Hudson wasn’t a star because he was gay… he was a star because of his square jaw and easy smile…. Kind of like Tuc.

    Eric and Jesse are stars because they are instantly relatable, even if their characters are “easily categorized” as “that kind of gay”.

  41. I agree with the comments Mr. Watkins made. As a gay man who was never in the closet, and who is completely comfortable with his sexuality, I cringe at the Modern Family characters, where I disagree with Mr. Watkins is that I cringe at all of them even if it a sit-com as so many here have pointed out. Reruns of the Jeffersons’ are equally uncomfortable and while that program was hailed in its own era it has not aged well and neither will Modern Family for the same reasons. The point though that I am trying to make, (with the comparisons), is that Mr. Watkins was speaking about the characters and the representation they bring across. No where did I read that he was speaking directly about either of the actors as individuals. Many of the reviewers here though have decided to comment about Mr. Watkins as an individual and not about the roles he played and that in itself screams stereotype and not a good one. You don’t have to dislike yourself as a gay man to say that Mitch makes me uncomfortable.

  42. So you have a problem with stereotypes? I wonder if wealthy older guys have a problem watching Jay and Gloria onscreen? Humor is rooted in stereotypes Don’t be so uptight, folks.

  43. I totally disagree. Cam & Mitch are carbon copies of so many of my married gay friends. Their characters of real people, NOT characatures. I understand the trauma of being called a sissy as a young gay boy – but I for one embrace my effeminism and I’m not ashamed to see it portrayed on TV – I’m proud.

  44. As a big fan of Modern Family it seems to me like Tuc is missing the point. Mitch & Cam are one of three families portrayed on the show -all may be stereotypical & nuanced in their own way. As a hetrosexual Mom I actually identify with Mitch and Cam the most as I am at the same stage in my relationship with my husband as they are….newly married and with a small baby. Like Mitch & Cam we are trying to find our way as we navigate the murky world of crèche, school and all that comes with having a small child. Also I should add that I have a gay sister and brother both of whom are not and yet who are at the same time stereotypes!

  45. All the characters in the show are stereotypes (I prefer caricatures) of real life. Lighten up. I have friends that are that camp and I have the ones that are ‘offended’. I prefer camp. I am campish when it suits me and unlike some, I am out at work…..

    Desperate housewives…..hmmm are all housewives desperate for something…..

  46. It’s SATIRE! yikes, folks.

  47. Poor Tuc. I know that it must upset him – those tired old stereotypes of gay guys. I wonder if he remembers the stereotypical gay couple that he and Kevin Rahm played on Desperate Housewives. You know, that was when the gay couple was composed to two guys – one was scripted to be kinda manly, and the other not so manly and a bit catty – who moved into the neighborhood, were never really written into the storylines, would take off their shirts now and then and flex, but were mostly treated as curiosities. WHAT? NO! You mean the closeted guy who played the more manly one, THAT was Tuc Watkins? Surely you jest! I think Tuc is very jealous that he has no “starring roles” and in some fashion thinks “he should be in one of those roles”. ME? Frankly I am sick to death of “Hollywood” portraying every gay couple as being composed of two guys who are muscle body obsessed, club hopping, expensive car driving, vapid airheads. WHAT I LOVE about Cam and Mitchell is that they don’t walk around shirtless. That they aren’t unrealistically wealthy. That they have flaws. That they could be any gay couple outside of Palm Springs, LA, P-Town, Miami or New York City. The characters are beloved because they remind us of us – those of us who live everywhere. Tuc, get some help.

  48. Cam’s character is fine. Being played by a str8 is “gay face” and inexcusably sexist. Where could you find a gay actor in Hollywood?

  49. Modern Family is not a tv show for gays, it’s for EVERYONE . not everyone want to watch a REAL depiction of gay relationships . and it’s not just about cam and mitch , all the characters in this show ar unreal . cam and mitchell are a toned down version of gay couples and it’s fine by me (not that i watch the show anymore since season 1)

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