Modern Family star Aubrey Anderson-Emmons has shed light on her sexuality for Pride Month.
The 18-year-old played Lily Tucker-Pritchett on the iconic ABC comedy series, joining the programme when she was just four years old.
In a TikTok video posted on Sunday (15 June) the actor lip-synced to audio from a Modern Family scene, in which her young character says, “No I’m not, I’m gay! I’m gay!” while co-star Sofia Vergara, who plays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, insists: “You are Vietnamese”. Mitch Pritchett (Jesse Tyler-Ferguson) then tells her: “You’re not gay, you’re just confused… Oh my God, what is wrong with me?”
“People keep joking so much about me being being gay when I literally am (I’m bi),” wrote Anderson-Emmons in text over the video, shared to her 2.6 million followers.
She captioned the post: “Hehe happy pride month and to all a good night” along with the hashtags #modernfamily #lily #pridemonth #pride #fyp #bi.
Social media users praised the star, calling her a “bi icon”.
“Aubrey knew who she was from a very young age,” one person joked, while others quipped: “So you weren’t just confused?” and “Half gay and half Vietnamese.”
“I’ve never been happier in my whole life,” remarked another person.
Modern Family, which aired from 2009 to 2020, was praised for its LGBT+ representation. It was nominated 10 years in a row for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Glaad Media Awards, which recognise portrayals of LGBT+ people in media, winning twice, in 2011 and 2012.
In the show, Lily, played by Anderson-Emmons, is the adopted daughter of Mitch and Cam (Eric Stonestreet).
In 2016, Modern Family reportedly became the first major scripted television programme to feature an openly transgender child actor, when Jackson Millarker was cast in the series. Millarker joined the Emmy-winning show for an episode called “A Stereotypical Day”.
Episode director Ryan Case announced the casting on Instagram at the time, writing: “This is Jackson Millarker. He’s eight-years-old, from Atlanta, and just so happens to be transgender. He plays Lily’s friend Tom in this week’s Modern Family and he’s wonderful. One of the many reasons I love being a part of this show.”
