Eric Stonestreet’s ‘Modern Family’ Meme Is the New Kevin James

Last month, a smirking Kevin James broke the internet. Over the past few days, an image of Eric Stonestreet is going for second place on the podium. A promotional image of Stonestreet embodying his hilarious character Cameron ‘“Cam” Tucker in the award-winning ABC sitcom Modern Family has begun to circulate on X, formerly known as Twitter. The photo of Stonestreet’s Cam, clad in a checkered lilac button-down shirt with the sleeves slightly rolled up, his hands clasped in front of him, giving a slight leg tilt, and pushing forth an anxious smile, has been seen by X users as a cross between a friendly neighbor and an agitated shopper. And the posters simply can’t resist. 

Some X users have likened the nervous-looking image to making eye contact with a bartender to order a drink or impatiently waiting for a flight attendant to pass you a mini bag of pretzels.  

Here’s a roundup of the best Stonestreet memes: 

Although it’s difficult to identify the meme’s first poster, a slideshow featuring different photos of Stonestreet was posted in June on TikTok and has since garnered more than 590K views, according to knowyourmeme.com. The photo originated from a promotional photoshot for Modern Family, and, unlike promo shoots for other seasons of the series, is strangely missing from wire services. The photo made its way onto X in late September and October. 

In Modern Family, Stonestreet’s often bubbly, eccentric persona juxtaposed with his husband Mitchell Pritchett’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) perpetual paranoia as they raised adopted daughter Lily and son Rexford together. Stonestreet took home two supporting Emmys for the role, and the show’s portrayal of a gay, married couple on a wildly popular primetime series helped change the cultural narrative surrounding gay marriage.  

King of Queens’ James became King of the Memes in late September for a Getty image of him shrugging sheepishly at the camera. Whether or not their popularity has to do with the dearth of television content due to the Hollywood strikes, an overall sense of nostalgia for sitcoms of yore, or something else is anyone’s guess. James even reposted the viral image on Instagram to help promote his comedy tour, The Irreplacable Tour. 

“Gearing up for my new Stand Up Tour… so happy I found this headshot,” James wrote.  

As the two sitcom stars watch their stock images go viral, one X user has picked up on the pattern: “They’re looking for a third.”

From Rolling Stone US.