12 Notorious Moms of Queer TV Characters

May 12 is Mother's Day, an occasion of celebration for the mother figures that have influenced the next generation, nurturing their children and helping prepare them for their futures. However, not all mothers are the type to embrace tender loving care, and in the world of television, that often makes them entertaining to watch, and hard to forget. After all, no mother is perfect. This list highlights 12 of television's most notorious mothers of queer male characters. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

 

Maryse Lightwood
Series: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments (Freeform)
Maryse (Nicola Correia-Damude) began the series as a clear antagonist when it came to situations involving her son Alec (Matthew Daddario). Maryse ran the Institute with an iron fist, demanding perfection from her Shadowhunter children. She showed clear determination to get Alec married to a woman to solidify his future as a leader, despite knowing of his disinterest. She also attempted to eliminate Alec's best friend Jace (Dominic Sherwood) and showed clear disdain for Alec's relationship with the warlock Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.). But after being punished for her past misdeeds, she made amends and celebrated Alec & Magnus' love, while working to bring her family together.

 

Queen Kristina
Series: Young Royals (Netflix)
Young Royals begins with mother & son in conflict as Queen Kristina (Pernilla August) makes the decision to send her teen son Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) to the Hillerska boarding school as a result of a public scandal that saw the young prince getting into a public fight. After the revelation of his romance with his new schoolmate Simon (Omar Rudberg), thanks to a sex tape being filmed and placed online by Wilhelm's vindictive cousin August (Malte Gårdinger), the Queen was again put in conflict with her son, wondering if he was prepared to take over the crown after the unexpected death of his older brother. The Queen found little time to comfort her son through his struggles, as she contended with her own crumbling mental state, under the weight of loss and scandal.

Sami Brady
Series: Days of Our Lives (NBC)
Sami (Alison Sweeney) is certainly one of the most notorious characters in soap opera history. While many of her antics and schemes did not target her gay son Will (Chandler Massey), he was often part of the collateral damage. She targeted Nick Fallon (Blake Berris) after learning he was tormenting Will. Sami also schemed to convince Adrienne (Judi Evans) that her husband Justin (Wally Kurth) was having an affair, all while the couple's son Sonny was married to her son Will. Of course, one of her most notorious schemes was hiding Will's paternity, attempting to pass him off as the son of Austin Reed (Austin Peck), when in fact he was the offspring of Sami and Austin's brother, Lucas (Bryan Dattilo).

DeDe Pritchett
Series: Modern Family (ABC)
DeDe (Shelley Long) isn't known for her motherly relationships with her children, though it is obvious that when it comes to Claire (Julie Bowen) & Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), she has a favorite in Mitchell. However, DeDe often used him as a means to an end when it came to things she didn't want to handle herself. DeDe also showed a passive aggressive attitude when it came to Mitchell's love, Cam (Eric Stonestreet), with her actions directed at his weight. It was also revealed that she had been secretly manipulating the guys' relationship for years, in the name of love, of course. Despite Mitchell being her favorite, DeDe was also notably absent from Mitchell & Cam's wedding.

 

Barb Tucker
Series: Modern Family (ABC)
DeDe Pritchett (Shelley Long) wasn't the only notorious mom on Modern Family. While Cam (Eric Stonestreet) had to contend with DeDe's passive aggressive nature, his mother Barb (Celia Weston) was arguably even more problematic, as she often engaged in inappropriate touching when it came to her son Cam's partner Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). After Mitchell confronted Barb & Cam about the incidents, she apologized to him ... after barging in to talk to him while he was in the bath. This was short-lived as Barb's behavior continued later on the series. Barb was also shown to be in favor of hiding Cam & Mitchell's relationship, instead of letting Cam come out to his grandmother (Ann Guilbert).

 

Bree Van De Kamp
Series: Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Bree (Marcia Cross) prided herself on being the vision of moral perfection. She shared a tumultuous relationship with her son Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom). Upon learning that Andrew might be gay, she attempted to get him into Christian counseling, telling him he would go to hell if he didn't change. She forbid him from seeing his best friend Justin (Ryan Carnes) after seeing the boys kissing. This led to Andrew retaliating. When Andrew's behavior became too much for Bree and her reputation, she dumped him in the middle of nowhere, effectively kicking him out of his home. The two would eventually make amends. While their relationship became less confrontational, Bree was never above using Andrew, and his homosexuality, to her advantage, even once attempting to pimp him out for a deal on home renovation with a gay architect.

 

Isabel Salazar
Series: Love, Victor (Hulu)
Victor's mother Isabel (Ana Ortiz) became a major antagonist in his life after his coming out. Her shock, coupled with her religious upbringing, led to a lack of support for Victor (Michael Cimino) and his relationship with his boyfriend Benji (George Sear). Isabel's rejection of Benji and inability to try to support her son proved to damage their relationship. Isabel attempted to forbid the two from seeing each other, as her confrontations with Benji worsened. She even used her younger son's innocence as an excuse to prevent Victor from coming out to him. When she consulted her priest on how to better reconcile her religion with Victor's sexuality, Isabel finally saw the error of her ways and defended Victor against the man's religious rhetoric against homosexuality.

 

Cookie Lyon
Series: Empire (FOX)
At the start of the series, the relationship between Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and her middle son Jamal (Jussie Smollett) is a close one which they rekindle quickly after her release from years of prison. Given his strained relationship with his father, she makes his musical success a priority. But when their dream came true and Jamal was named the CEO of Empire, Cookie went against her favorite son, joining his brothers in plotting against Jamal and the respect he ultimately gained from his father Lucious (Terrence Howard). And of course, one of her most notorious actions was supplying pills to Jamal despite knowing he had become addicted to the meds for his PTSD, all so that he could perform in a concert that was designed to boost her love interest's mayoral campaign.

 

Janine 'Smurf' Cody
Series: Animal Kingdom (TNT)
Smurf (Ellen Barkin) was the protective, and often provacative, matriarch of the Cody crime family. She was often unpredictable and also manipulative when it came to her four sons, including the gay Deran (Jake Weary). Given her ability to weaponize her motherhood and pushing her sons to be "men," it's no surprise that she was shocked when Deran came out to her. This led to a major rift between the two, with Deran ostracizing her while getting positive support from his brothers, Craig (Ben Robson) and Pope (Shawn Hatosy). Smurf seemed to come around to Deran's homosexuality, even inviting his boyfriend Adrian (Spencer Treat Clarke) to a family dinner, though one might argue this was another tactic, used to regain her connection and hold on Deran. After all, she would later order Adrian's execution, leaving Deran in an impossible situation.

 

Monet Tejada
Series: Power Book II: Ghost (STARZ)
As the matriarch of the Tejada crime family, Monet (Mary J. Blige) always claimed that her family came first. This would include her gay son Dru (Lovell Adams-Gray), whom Monet appeared to openly support, especially as his sexuality became more prominent early on in the series. However, when seeking revenge on her husband Lorenzo, Monet enlisted Dru's love interest Gordo (Erik Hernandez) to handle it. Knowing the vengeful Dru wanted to find his father's killer, Monet put him on the path to discovering it was Gordo. This led to Dru killing his new love and sending his mental health into a further tailspin. When the truth of Monet's plot came to light, her three children, including Dru, confronted her. Heading into the series' final season, the relationship between Monet & Dru is in shambles with mother and son as clear adversaries.

 

Mary Villiers
Series: Mary & George (STARZ)
The Countess of Buckingham, Mary (Julianne Moore) was known for many things, including her cold attitude and her greed and thirst for power. She would embark on her biggest effort to elevate herself and her family by forcing her son George (Nicholas Galitzine) to leave home for France, where he could be taught the courtly ways that would secure him a wealthy spouse. Upon learning that King James (Tony Curran) has same-sex proclivities, Mary sees her chance and guides her son's attention to the King, effectively pimping him out to a royal, in order to secure favor, wealth, and ultimately power, despite the often-deadly consequences that come George's way as a result. On top of this, she later switches tactics, wanting George to marry the wealthy Katherine (Mirren Mack). Ultimately, it is Mary's actions that put George on the path that would lead to his eventual demise.

 

Veronica Harrington
Series: The Haves and the Have Nots (OWN)
As a primary antagonist of the soapy drama, vindictive lawyer Veronica (Angela Robinson) never took kindly to any action that interfered with her reputation and agenda. She openly manipulated every situation she was involved in, which meant trouble for anyone in her orbit. Her gay son Jeffrey (Gavin Houston) often bore the brunt of her fury, as Veronica's anger, annoyance, and outward homophobia led her to blackmail Jeffrey into attempting to sleep with, and marry, a woman. She was verbally abusive, orchestrated an assault on her son, and set out to destroy any semblance of happiness he could gather. Veronica's bold villainy knew few bounds and perhaps her worst crime may have been believing that her vicious actions towards Jeffrey would make him a better, more loyal man who would one day thank his mother for doing what she felt was best.