Jesse Tyler Ferguson Intends to Raise Son as Gay, Britney Spears Fan

Jesse Tyler Ferguson is not imposing heteronormative expectations on his firstborn.

The Modern Family star told Sean Hayes, the guest host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, that he and his husband, Justin Mikita, will be operating under the assumption that their son is gay until proven straight in a conversation about parenting techniques.

"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 in the Tuesday chat. "On the way back from the hospital, we played Britney Spears ... so that was his first exposure to music."

Joking aside, Ferguson admitted that, just as many straight parents raise LGBTQ+ children, the odds are that these gays dads will have a straight son. And that's just fine, although it may mean adding some skills on their end.

"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," Ferguson added of their son, Beckett Mercer Ferguson-Mikita, who was born July 7, 2020. "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."

Ferguson, 45, is known for portraying a gay dad, Mitchell Pritchett, on ABC's long-running Modern Family, which recently went off the air. He won a slew of Emmys for the role. He is now promoting a new cookbook, Food Between Friends, and hosting Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Watch the conversation with Hayes below.