upfronts 2010

The Modern Family Cast at the Peabodys

The Modern Family cast accepts a Peabody.

Modern Family is capping off a great year: It received a Peabody Award yesterday at the Waldorf Astoria, and Kobe Bryant is making a guest appearance in tomorrow’s season finale (the Lakers star is a huge fan of the show). The only cloud on the show’s horizon is a Facebook campaign demanding that gay characters Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) share an onscreen kiss. Creator Steve Levitan, who issued a statement in response asking fans to “please chillax,” told us: “It’s hard when you’re in our position because we don’t want to sound defensive about it. Everything we’re doing, we feel like we’re doing for character reasons. There is an episode that addresses it next season that we had in the works anyway, so I think that it’ll all pass soon.” Stonestreet, who called the Facebook group “wasted energy,” was less calm: “We’re a show that obviously is forward- and progressive-thinking,” the star told us. “To adopt a baby on prime-time television is way more taboo than a kiss, and obviously Mitchell and Cameron are going to experience everything in their relationship. Unfortunately, I’ve been tweeted and sent messages saying that because I’m straight, I don’t get to have an opinion on that, which really disappoints me. I play the character and I think I get to have an opinion on it.”

The Modern Family Cast at the Peabodys