Ty Burrell Reacts To Fans Thinking He 'Died' After He Missed 'Modern Family' Reunion

Contrary to rumors on the internet, actor Ty Burrell, who played Phil in the hit sitcom Modern Family, is not dead.

He is in fact in the living world. He and fellow costar Jesse Tyler Ferguson discussed this and more in a recent podcast episode of Dinner's on Me, with the clip of their discussion of Tyler's supposed passing posted on Instagram to tease the episode.

Back in 2023, there had been a Modern Family cast reunion that brought nearly every member of the cast back, except, notably, Burrell.

People immediately wondered where "Phil" (Burrell) was, and the rumors began to swirl.

It probably didn't help that during the reunion, the cast toasted a picture of Burrell on the mantle—which is how people sometimes pay homage to those who have passed.

Burrell laughed about the rumors and said he had a very good excuse for not attending: he had a planned surgery.

Except then, the only pictures he had to defend himself from the rumors of his own death were him in a hospital gown, which wouldn't really help the rumor mill.

Folks were deeply amused by Burrell's last-minute excuse.

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People expressed their appreciation for the explanation of why Burrell wasn't at the reunion.

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Apparently, many people still thought Burrell was dead.

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Many people were just excited to see and hear the two actors talking together.

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Some commenters were truly invested in the show, so this interview teaser had them hyped.

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The podcast episode featuring this conversation is available for streaming through most podcast services.