Jesse Tyler Ferguson says he’s raising son gay until he decides he’s straight

Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson says his son will be gay until proven straight, according to The Advocate!

This week, the openly gay actor sat down with Ellen DeGeneres to discuss queer parenting. In the interview, Ferguson jokingly stated that he and his husband, Justin Mikkita, will assume their baby boy, Beckett Mercer Ferguson-Mikita, who was born in July 2020, is gay until they are told otherwise.

“It’s a lot of show tunes because that’s what I like, so we’re raising him gay until he decides he’s straight,” Ferguson said. “On the way back from the hospital, we played Britney Spears … so that was his first exposure to music.”

Although Ferguson was joking, he knows that there’s a strong possibility that his son won’t be gay, and he will have to learn a lot about raising a straight child, just as many cishet people have to learn a lot about raising LGBTQ children. Ironically, the 45 year-old actor is most well-known for portraying gay dad, Mitchell Pritchett, for years on ABC’s Modern Family — a role that garnered him numerous Screen Actors Guild Award wins and Emmy nominations. 

“Justin and I were saying we can just tell he’s gonna be such a straight kid,” Ferguson said. “Who knows? He can do whatever he wants. I have a feeling he’s gonna wanna play football. I can just tell. I’m gonna have to learn how to do all those things.”

“We’re still figuring out his personality,” he adds. 

The actor, who is now busy promoting a new cookbook, Food Between Friends, and hosting Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, goes on to say: “It’s a new person in your life, and just like anyone new that comes into your life, you’ve gotta figure out if you like them. It takes a little time.”

Watch the full interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show below!