ABC’s The Conners had a very young coming out this week. Darlene’s (Sara Gilbert) son Mark (Ames McNamara) got called to the principal’s office at school after a kiss transpires between two boys.
At the opening of the show, Darlene tells the family that “we have to go see the principal tomorrow because your school has a ‘No PDA’ rule and somebody posted a picture of you kissing your friend Austin at school.”
Mark’s sister Harris (Emma Kenney) then quipped that is was unfair that Mark “had a boyfriend” because he already “wins at everything.”
Replied Mark: “I guess he’s my boyfriend. When we found out they were gonna start serving personal pizzas at lunch, we got so excited that we kissed. … And that was the first time. He only told me he was gay last week.”
Cut to a scene in the principal’s office, where Mark’s boyfriend Austin and his bigoted grandmother denied everything.
Said the grandmother: “Who are you gonna believe? My kid or the boy with the nail polish? … You raise your kid however you want, but I’ve got enough on my plate raising Austin by myself. I don’t need your kid confusing him into thinking he’s something he isn’t!”
Mark later got a pep talk from his parents as he was removing his nail polish in his room, ultimately declaring, “I love myself! I’m glad I’m gay! Leave me alone!”
