"Bad Lighting" w/ Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Summary

STRAIGHTIOLAB "Bad Lighting" w/ Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Release Date: March 10, 2026
Hosts: George Civeris & Sam Taggart
Guest: Jesse Tyler Ferguson

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, the StraightioLab crew welcomes actor, activist, and theater legend Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family, Take Me Out, host of Dinners On Me) to unpack the truly straight affliction: bad lighting. The boys and Jesse weave through topics of LA versus NYC culture, marriage, straight vs. gay aesthetics at home, the legacy and pressures of Modern Family, and the emotional importance of proper lighting. The conversation glows with wit, candor, and plenty of self-aware queer analysis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. LA vs. NYC: Stereotypes and Shifting Opinions

• Sam’s Change of Heart on Los Angeles (03:22-04:47)

  • Sam reflects on previously disliking LA but now appreciates its ‘maturity and adultness’ compared to New York.
  • Notable Quote (Sam, 04:05):
    “The only thing that matters in New York is being cool. And the only thing that matters in LA is your produce being fresh, which is more important and more substantial.”

• Jesse’s Bi-Coastal Experience (08:46-09:50)

  • Jesse describes feeling like a perpetual visitor in LA despite living there longer than in NYC. He credits Modern Family for keeping him in LA and muses about his family’s future.
  • Notable Quote (Jesse, 09:29):
    “I still feel like I’m just visiting here really emotionally and spiritually and artistically. New York’s home.”

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2. Modern Family, Representation, and Cultural Impact

• Being the “Ideal” Gay Couple & Navigating Expectations (13:40-16:36)

  • Jesse unpacks the unique pressures of playing an out gay man on network TV, feeling both supported and critiqued by the LGBTQ community, and having to play just “one specific gay person.”
  • Notable Quote (Jesse, 15:05):
    “There was a lot of noise about how we weren’t doing things right... I had to keep reminding myself, my job was to play this one specific gay person.”

• Handling Criticism Over On-Screen Affection (16:37-18:12)

  • Jesse notes criticism that Mitch and Cam weren’t affectionate enough, explaining how the writers responded by building a storyline around the issue rather than shoehorning in affectionate moments.
  • Notable Quote (Jesse, 17:02):
    “I liked that this couple that on paper, you would think would be the most sexualized because they're gay, weren’t—they were the boring couple. We were able to explore issues with PDA in a grounded way.”

• Casting “Can a Straight Guy Play Gay?” (23:11-25:51)

  • Jesse recalls Eric Stonestreet’s audition and his basis for Cam, discusses how casting might play out differently today, and affirms the power of truthful, grounded performance regardless.
  • Notable Quote (Jesse, 24:42):
    “When [Eric] walked in, I met Cam. Eric grounded that character in his mother. ... I can’t imagine the show existing without him.”

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3. Lighting: The Emotional Stakes of Home Design

• Defining Bad Lighting (37:37-38:47)

  • Jesse shares a personal saga of Lutron lighting hell: moving into a new-build home and wrestling for over a year to get the lighting “just right.” The default, he says, was blindingly bright and required considerable “reprogramming.”
  • Notable Quote (Jesse, 38:47):
    “I was astonished that this man who built this house... it was like a tennis court inside. I would hesitate to come home at night because I had to sit in that lighting.”

• Lighting as an Aesthetic, Not Just Function (41:45-42:41)

  • George and Jesse agree: true lighting design means eschewing overheads, using lamps, and treating lighting as core to decor—something gay people “get” that straight people overlook.
  • Notable Quote (Sam, 42:16):
    "It's a very gay thing to view lighting as part of the decor... straight people can understand that a painting is decor... but lighting is viewed as just on or off, not aesthetic."

• Funky Lighting & Danger Zones: Purple, Blacklight, Colored Holiday Lights (42:45-44:32)

  • Jesse rails against purple “spaceship” lighting and elaborate up-lighting, while George confesses to letting colored Christmas lights linger too long—cautioning against sliding into “Fort Lauderdale gay” territory.
  • Memorable Story (Jesse, 45:17):
    “We got up lighting... it looked like we were hosting the Golden Globes and had to sit with this lighting for a month.”

• Lighting Diplomacy at Home (40:54-41:27, 45:39-47:28)

  • Jesse admits his “lighting comfort level is way darker than it should be” and describes adjusting lighting remotely at his husband's dinner party, only to get a text: “What the fuck are you doing?”
  • On letting kids have extra lights, he says: “My kids are the only ones who can get away with it. If they’re working on LEGOs, they can turn the light up.”

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4. Gay Parental Aesthetic Control & Domestic Power Dynamics

• Gay vs. Straight Parenting—Aesthetic Edition (46:21-46:54)

  • The hosts riff on gay parenting as less about sexual politics and more about controlling “aesthetic categories” (like lighting and decor), versus straight parents’ obsessions (like baseball).

• Domestic Partnership Dynamics: Who’s Particular? (49:20-50:59)

  • Discussing boundaries of taste and being the “particular one” in a relationship, Sam and George share personal anecdotes of aesthetic negotiation and micro-bickerings.

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5. Restaurants, Food Criticism, and Dinner Party Culture

• Dining Origin Stories (63:36-66:11)

  • Jesse reminisces about formative meals in Albuquerque and experiences researching for Broadway’s Fully Committed by visiting NYC’s top kitchens.

• Jesse’s Podcast ‘Dinners On Me’ (57:33-59:06)

  • Jesse describes hosting his podcast, which features guests at beloved restaurants in NY, LA, and London (dream combo: Michelle Obama at Akbar in LA).

• Food at Gay Bars (62:16-63:09)

  • The group ponders the rare spectacle of having good food at a gay bar (shout out: Julius in NYC), compared to places like The Abbey in LA offering “literally anything.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I brought you here for a reason. The American people, we're going to trap.”—Jesse (06:12)
• “Do you want to apologize to Jesse? ...I’m sitting right here.”—Jesse and George, playfully (13:13)
• “I will go around, turn off the overheads, pull out lamps from other rooms... People see the lighting design I offer at the end and they’re always happy with it.”—Jesse (41:47-42:09)
• “It’s a slippery slope to becoming Fort Lauderdale gay guys. We have to hold onto some sense of class.”—George (44:10-44:21)
• “If you’re straight and have kids, you give up on the lighting. If you’re gay and have kids, you get more anal about the lighting.”—Sam (45:39-45:47)

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Segment Highlights & Timestamps

• NYC vs. LA Deep Dive: 03:22 – 09:10
• Modern Family Pressures / Legacy: 13:40 – 25:51
• “Straight Shooters” Lightning Round: 31:30 – 34:18
• Main Topic – Bad Lighting Begins: 37:36 – 51:17
• Restaurant & Critic Discussion: 51:17 – 57:33
• Jesse’s Podcast & Restaurant Origin: 57:33 – 66:11
• Final Segment – Shout Outs: 66:56 – 73:02

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Memorable Shout Outs

• Sam: Testament of Ann Lee (film) & Amanda Seyfried’s Oscar snub.
• George: Maury’s Bagels in LA and being (begrudgingly) converted to lox.
• Jesse: The music of Rufus Wainwright, newly rediscovered:
  “He’s one of those artists that is timeless... I don’t know why I stopped listening to him."
• Dream Podcast Guest/Location: Michelle Obama at Akbar.

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Tone, Style, and Vibe

• Effortlessly conversational, irreverent, and bright, with classic self-deprecating queer tangents and social critique.
• The hosts and guest blend humor with sincere insight, often turning cultural critique inwards.
• Intentionally meta—discussing performance, social codes, and queer anxieties with both irony and warmth.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode’s dishy, hilarious, and revealing conversation circles around the surprisingly political (and queer) stakes of lighting, the ongoing push-pull of queer visibility and representation, and the little culture wars that happen in every home. With Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s openness, the group shines a light (the tasteful, dimmable kind) on what matters most—decor, affection, and fighting for the right kind of ambiance.

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For fans or newcomers, this episode is a window into both the humor and soft obsessions of the queer domestic psyche—with just enough Modern Family behind-the-scenes to satisfy TV lovers, and more than enough interior design anxiety for us all.

Transcript

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying Big Wireless Way Too much. Please, for the love of everything good

[Sam Taggart]

in this world, stop with Mint.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments.

[Sam Taggart]

But that's weird.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate

first three months only, then full price

plan taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] support for the show

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[George Severis]

Podcast doesn't start now. This is a quick show announcement. As you guys know, I've been working on an hour and I'm doing it two more times in Los Angeles on March 24 and on April 1. I've done it once already in LA and once in New York and both of those sold out. So I would say, please, please, please get ticks. I would love to see you there. Okay, enjoy the episode. Bye. Podcast starts now. What is up, everyone around the globe? You're listening to Stradiolab. We're nearing the end of Georgia's big LA month.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Everyone will be listening to this in like April of 2028. But I've been in LA now for a full month.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And I'm having the time of my life still.

[George Severis]

Really?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Tell me how. How are you? Are you looking forward to going back to your normal life?

[Sam Taggart]

I was just, you know, I have such a New York mindset. I've been in New York now for many years and I would say I generally dislike Los Angeles. And in this trip, it has changed. I've done a 180 completely. So much so that I'm thinking of my friends back home in New York and I'm like, they're fake. Like, everyone here is real.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like.

[Sam Taggart]

Cause you know, that stereotype is like, LA people are superficial.

[George Severis]

They're fake, whatever.

[Sam Taggart]

And New York people are real. And they're all like, playwrights and all they is, you know, excavate the depths of human emotion and depravity.

[George Severis]

Of course not the case.

[Sam Taggart]

The gay guys in New York are actually completely obsessed with surface level bullshit. And everyone in LA is actually sitting down to write that screenplay. And I'm. I'm.

[George Severis]

This is the hottest take you've ever had.

[Sam Taggart]

Something. Something has changed within me. To quote. To quote another Los Angeles based artist, Alphabet.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah,

[George Severis]

I mean, I honestly feel what you're feeling. There's like a maturity.

[Sam Taggart]

There's a maturity and an adultness here you really like. By the way, I'm excited to go back to New York. That's where I belong. Okay. But the sceneiness of New York, it's like, to what end? Whereas the scenes of la, it's like, yes, you need to network with that person for your career. So in New York, you're doing that. You're having a bad interaction for no reason.

[George Severis]

Yeah. Just because they're a little hot.

[Sam Taggart]

Just because there's martinis.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I find that, like, there's like a growing up that is like, in New York, everyone's just sort of being like, well, I'm a child forever.

[Sam Taggart]

Completely.

[George Severis]

I was thinking there were friends visiting from New York this month and we were like, we took them to a bar and I was so embarrassed because the bar isn't cool and the bar isn't anywhere close to as cool as any single bar in New York City. And I was like, God, it just sucks that there's nowhere cool to take them. And I was like, wait, it doesn't matter. Like, I'm like, why? Why is that the only thing that matters?

[Sam Taggart]

I know.

[George Severis]

Like, there's so much more to life.

[Sam Taggart]

No, the only thing that matters in New York is being cool. And the only thing that matters in LA is your produce being fresh,

[George Severis]

which actually.

[Sam Taggart]

And that's more important and more substantial,

[George Severis]

which maybe potentially brings us to our guest.

[Sam Taggart]

Our guest is someone who is quite frankly, a legend of multiple industries.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Speaking of fresh produce.

[Sam Taggart]

We both have very personal connections to him, which we will get into. Oh, God, it's all bad.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I was going to say we brought you here for a reason.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

This is the American people we're going to trap.

[Sam Taggart]

We're going to go through your IMDb and we're going to ask you to like. Just word. Yeah. So please welcome Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Hello.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Wait, I want to know what bar was that you took them to? Okay, well, now you're going to feel bad because you feel like you're kind of calling the bar.

[George Severis]

Yeah, I'm going to feel bad.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But is it on the east side?

[George Severis]

Yeah, it's like the.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Is it the one that I think it is? Yeah. I love that bar and I do

[George Severis]

like that bar, but it's like, in

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

comparison, we all know what we're talking about, right?

[George Severis]

Yeah, it's the one of the two bars.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's my. Well, I just have, like a deep history with it and I used to like that bar when they used to sell cookies at the bar when I first moved here.

[Sam Taggart]

It's a cute bar, but I also. To your point, it does.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, the drinks are terrible.

[Sam Taggart]

I feel like it has. You're going to get roofied, which often. Yeah, everything is very, like, new and sanitized and I do feel like you can feel the generations.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been a while since I've been there too.

[George Severis]

Yeah. And I. I still like going there, but it's something about, like, when you want to, like, it has like a kitschiness that I like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes, yes.

[George Severis]

But when I'm trying to show, like, cool people the cool spot, I'm like, well, it's. You have to like the kitcheness.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, for sure. But like, I love the East Village bars. And that's like that bar that we're talking about that we're not gonna name, where everybody knows your name is. Feels like an East Village bar. And that's why I liked it so much.

[George Severis]

No, you're right. It does feel like that.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I feel like your friends, if they weren't impressed with that, they. You need new friends.

[George Severis]

Well, you. I mean, these.

[Sam Taggart]

You don't know how. You don't know how itchy and stupid all our friends are. They are.

[George Severis]

They're getting worse by the day.

[Sam Taggart]

They will never be satisfied.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Where do they like to go in New York? They're. What do they need?

[George Severis]

You know, it's.

[Sam Taggart]

It's.

[George Severis]

They're getting more animal. It's Exley, it's basement. It's. It's that type of thing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You're just shouting nouns.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, yeah. And barely nouns. Some of them are not even words.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's a word salad.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Yeah. So it's tough. It's tough because it's. I think it's just that I know what is. I know it is cool. But I'm like. I can see it through their eyes.

[Sam Taggart]

They also. It's not. It's not like you own that bar. Like, you're like, this is the bar that I'm taking you to. Yeah, I'm still me.

[George Severis]

Well, showing people around is always a nightmare because they're like, so this is your favorite spot. So you love this. You designed this place. And I'm like, no, it's just a. It's one of the four places within a 10 minute car ride of my show.

[Sam Taggart]

People a movie. And then there's like a problematic joke in it or something. And you're like, I disavow this part of the film.

[George Severis]

Yeah, I. When I loved this movie, I didn't love this part. I always knew something was wrong with this part.

[Sam Taggart]

Did you spend a lot of time in New York?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I did. I spent the first part of my career there. I was there for over a decade before I moved out here. So I love New York. In fact, I still feel that even though I've lived in Los Angeles longer than I ever lived in New York. I still feel like I'm just visiting here really emotionally and spiritually and artistically. New York's home. So every time I get to go back, I'm so happy to be back in New York. But I do love LA very much.

[George Severis]

Does the visiting feeling, does that create anxiety of how much longer am I going to be here?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Or does it sometimes. I mean, I got. I'm sure we're gonna talk about it, but I was on a. I had a very. Like, no actor ever has, like, a long term job. And I like, somehow found one of those and it literally kept me here.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And not in like a bad way. I mean, I was very happy to have that job and be kept here with that job. But like, it was, you know, it kept me here longer than I probably would have stayed. And then, like, I started a family and now I have kids and, you know, it's just easier to be here and so. But I sort of always think, well, at some point in the near future, I'm gonna be back on the East Coast.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And you were here for Game of Thrones?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Game of Thrones? Yeah. All of Grace Anatomy. I did all of Grey's Anatomy every episode.

[Sam Taggart]

You were so good in Grey's Anatomy.

[George Severis]

I thought it was a weird choice that they made you dead the whole time.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The whole time, yeah. Every episode was.

[George Severis]

That was cool. Like, you were really still.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. No, and it's, you know, it's living.

[George Severis]

So obviously we're both moder family heads, which is. We have gone on such a kick way after the fact.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm already feeling defensive because I'm like, that's what everyone talks to about and we don't want to do that.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We're cool.

[Sam Taggart]

By the way, I want to say I also. My other connection to you is that I saw you on stage with my mom when she was visiting New York. And it was in the play youy Want to Tony for, of course. And we had an amazing moment where, you know, everyone comes out with their cocks out. And my mom. Not you, not you. One of the few people that didn't.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know. It's okay. I have some. I have a surprise.

[Sam Taggart]

Were you jealous? Yeah.

[George Severis]

Were you? Like, I wish.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I have been naked on stage before.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Really?

[George Severis]

Which was fun.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The most fabulous story ever told was just a Paul Rudnick play. And I did it when I was like 21 years old. And it was at the Minetta Lane Theater, which is a small little office now.

[Sam Taggart]

Owned by Amazon.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right. Correct. Audible.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. Audible. Theater.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes. And so I was like, oh, I've done that. I'm good. I'm good. Plus, I mean, no one needed to see me at that point in my career with my clothes off, especially with that group of men who were willing to do it. Yeah, yeah.

[George Severis]

You didn't want to go, like, Harry Potter.

[Sam Taggart]

But my mom, it was just like a very funny, like, mother, gay son moment where, like, when everyone, like, took out their penises, she would be, like, clocking who. And then the person with the largest penis, who I won't mention, did disrobe, and she just, like, turns to me and is like. And I was like, we can't have

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

this moment right now.

[Sam Taggart]

You have to please look ahead. Like, look ahead, and then we'll talk about it after.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But she was.

[Sam Taggart]

That play is so. It's the rare play that is both genuinely good if you are a normal person wanting to see theater. And also, nudity aside, good for bringing your mom. It's so rare that, like, there's something. Cause you don't want to. You know, you don't want to bring your mom to, like, the Lion King, but you also don't want to bring her to, like, Marina Abramovic doing, like, slapping herself or whatever.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's a nice midpoint.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's the place. Did you say the name of the place? Sorry.

[Sam Taggart]

Take me home.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, take me out. Take me out or take me home?

[Sam Taggart]

No, take me out.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's probably how you felt with both. Oh, my God.

[Sam Taggart]

It was so good, and you were so good in it. It was, like, such a.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Thank you.

[Sam Taggart]

Heartfelt, like. It really has stayed with me. Anyway, go ahead.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But it is a great play for, I think, a lot of people who also don't see a lot of theater. It's about baseball, but it's not about baseball. It's about toxic masculinity and so many other things. But I know a lot of people who. That was, like, their first play that they ever saw.

[Sam Taggart]

Really?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. And they're like, oh, is this what theater is? It's, like, not all theater, but, yeah, it's. It's one of those rare shows that I feel that people. There's something in it for everyone. Let's just say that you were in

[Sam Taggart]

New York at the time.

[George Severis]

No, I didn't see it.

[Sam Taggart]

Do you want to apologize to Jesse?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You want to apologize to me? I'm sitting right here.

[Sam Taggart]

Jesse.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm sorry.

[George Severis]

I didn't see you play Back to Modern Family, but basically, Back to Modern Family, we both got.

[Sam Taggart]

I'll say it.

[George Severis]

Gay married in the last.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes, we both got married.

[George Severis]

And the joke I keep making is that ever since we got gay married, not to each other, I. We. I cannot stop watching Modern Family. And it's so suddenly, we're implicated.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Before, I was like, that's not my life. That's not me.

[George Severis]

And now I'm like, wait, that's me. I'm so curious about so many things. Okay. I'm like, do you. Was there, like, a pressure because you were, like, ideal gay couple? Like, did you feel pressure, like, to be, like, a good person, both in

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

and offset, like, oh, 100%? I mean, the thing is, I'm an alien person, so I was like. I got that part down, so it's easy. That part's easy. What I will say, and I've talked about this a little bit before, but I love to bring it up again because I feel like it's something that, I don't know. I wasn't able to talk about when it was happening, but I felt an immense amount of pressure because. For several reasons, but, like, I was of the couple Bitch and Cam. I was the actor who was actually gay. Eric Stonestreet's straight, and he's gay for pay, as I say. And, you know, I felt an immense amount of pressure as the gay cast member, but also as, like, part of this couple on network television. You know, it's like we had been. You know, the golden doors had been open to us, and we were able to, like, enter people's living rooms and, like, show them, like, what a gay couple was. And I feel, like, such an incredible amount of pressure from the gay community, specifically.

[George Severis]

Yeah. For sure.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And.

[Sam Taggart]

And they famously hate everything.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

They hate everything.

[Sam Taggart]

It's really amazing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Until they don't. Until they don't. And they love it, and then they decide to hate it later.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, but I mean, mostly I've. I've had. I had nothing but, like, a lot of support from the LGBTQ community. But there were a lot of. There was a lot of noise about, like, how we weren't doing things right or we weren't representing, you know, what certain people thought we should be representing. And I had to keep reminding myself that I'm there. My job was to play this one specific gay person.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Who happened to be a lot like me is gay. And so I had to. I let myself, you know, off the hook a lot. But, you know, I also. I'm A sensitive person, and I wanted to make sure that I was doing a good job, and I heard a lot of the feedback and the criticism. And the thing is, when a show becomes popular enough, like, it's going to get. It's gonna get blowback. And so when we started getting blowback from everyone, I mean, you know, people thought Sophia was a cliche of someone from Columbia. Like, I mean, we all were getting it.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But, you know, I was like, well, this just means that we're successful. So it's true. There's only so much you can really do when you start to hear that criticism. You don't want to drown in it. You still have to sort of keep your focus on, like, what you're there to do. And we had such great writers who, you know, handled some of the criticism and ignored some of the criticism. So I love. I love.

[Sam Taggart]

I wonder, like, what criticism.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And one of the big ones you

[Sam Taggart]

don't have to like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But one of the things that I do remember was that they were upset that. And I actually kind of agree with the LGBTQ community about this. Like, Mitch and Cam weren't showing a ton of affection.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, I see.

[Sam Taggart]

And.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I love the way that the writers dealt with it. And, you know, we had these other kind of hyper sexualized couples. Phil and Claire were always like, oh, they were banging. They were banging.

[Sam Taggart]

A lie.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And, of course, you know, Jay and Gloria were having their whole thing going on. He was constantly being titillated by Sofia Vergara. But so, like, I kind of like that this couple that on paper, you would think would be, like, the most sexualized because they're gay weren't, and they were, like, kind of the boring couple. Like, I liked that. I liked that it sort of switched it up. But we were able to then, you know, explore my character's issues with PDA and, like, where it maybe stemmed from and, you know, not having enough love from his father. And we had this episode called the Kiss, where it was basically building up to, like, a kiss between Mitch and Cam. But what it ended up being building up to was a kiss between me and my dad. And then. And then that was, like, the big moment. And then in the background, you see me and Cam share a very quick kiss that felt very real and very grounded. And I. But it was. It was taking the criticism of the gay community and hearing that, but also being like, okay, well, what can we do with this that's not so obvious? Just, like, having them all of a sudden, like, handsy, because that doesn't make sense.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Sam Taggart]

I also feel like it does a good job of, you know, when you guys hang out with pepper and. What's the other one?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Longines.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes. I mean, one of the, A very funny thing to show on screen is how people code switch, how gay couples code switch between like their family and their straight friends and their gay friends. And, and that happened on Will and Grace too because they would have their straight friends and their gay friends. But I feel like that was handled so well. And it was also shown that, yes, you guys are sort of family oriented and prudish in the grand scheme of these other more promiscuous gays that you know.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right.

[Sam Taggart]

And it like reminded the audience. You're only seeing this one couple and they don't represent like the entire gay community.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And I also, we all know couples that are like, similar to Kevin Mitchell.

[George Severis]

Of course.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Listen, I've been married now for almost 13 years and I've been with my husband for almost 16.

[George Severis]

Whoa.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

When you've been together for a long time, there are certain things that just take a backseat. I mean, we still like, not to get too graphic, but like, our life is, our sexual life is very healthy. But like, we, you know, it's not what it used to be. We have kids that are our priority now. And like, it's that I see so much more of my relationship in Mitch and Cam now as a parent than I did when I was, you know, unmarried and, you know, single or at least, you know, just dating my husband.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, it is funny to be like a 25 year old single gay guy watching Modern Family and be like, that's not realistic. That's not what my life is like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Just wait. Yeah, just wait. Just wait.

[George Severis]

Fully, fully. When Eric Stonestreet is like being Cam, are you ever like, damn, you're good at that.

[Sam Taggart]

Holy shit.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, it's so funny because I met Eric in his audition. He loves when I tell people this, but I was cast first, and so I got to then, like, meet in chemistry, read with other people to play Cam.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And so it was like speed dating, you know, Like, I would. These people would walk in, and actually one of them was the guy who played Longinus.

[Sam Taggart]

Really?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

He auditioned for Cam, and then they were like, well, he's not right for Cam, but, you know, then we'll find something for him. And he ended up having this really fun sort of reoccurring guest spot. But when Eric walked in, I met Cam. I mean, like, I met. That's who he was playing. And Eric grounded that character in his mother. And so when I finally met Eric's mom, I was like, oh, absolutely.

[George Severis]

Oh, wow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

He's 100% playing Jamie Stonestreet, and it was grounded in this real person who he loved so much. But, yeah, I mean, I met Eric as Cam, and so when we started to get to know one another and I just met him, I got to know him as this football loving straight dude. I was like, oh, this is fun. I love that.

[George Severis]

The way that rewatching now, I'm like, damn, he is eating it up so bad.

[Sam Taggart]

He's incredible.

[George Severis]

And in a way, that is such a funny. The whole conversation about, can straight guys play gay guys? I'm like, well, when they do it right, yeah, he does it so right.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

He does it so right. And, you know, he also. I had some conversations with Eric recently. I was like, do you think that if they were casting Modern Family today that you would be cast? He's like, I absolutely don't think I would have been. And I think that's really interesting. And, yeah, I can't imagine the show existing without him.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, it's interesting because we were just with our previous guest talking about how there's so many shows currently about depressed, grieving lesbians. Tajon Robbins, that Beast in Me with Claire Danes. And there was like, one more that I can't remember, but all of them are played very well, by the way, by straight women. And I'm like, I don't know if. If, like, I don't know if he would not have been cast. I don't know. I'm just. I think it, like, I think it sort of goes back and forth. And I also. I'm like, well, you were gay and, like, they had you, so, like, that sort of gives him plausible deniability.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Right, Right. Right. And I was actually asked to audition for Cam before Mitch.

[George Severis]

That's what they were.

[Sam Taggart]

Interesting.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I mean, I think because Cam is so flamboyant, that there is this thing about like, oh, why is the gay guy. I know, but so flamboyant being played by a straight guy.

[Sam Taggart]

But to me, that's like, what's so fun about it is that you're playing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't think I would have done it as well, to be honest.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Because I am gay and that's not a truthful version of. I don't. I love. I will say this, I love playing a version of myself that was very close to me. It felt right. I felt very represented. I felt like I could just show up and live my truth and also do it with these incredible writers and I think push acceptance forward. But it felt very close to me and that felt right.

[George Severis]

That's nice.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

I'm like, so you were theater before the show. Was that a weird transition to go from theater to tv?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The first TV I did was a multi camera show, so I got to do in front of a live studio audience. It sort of felt like a nice transitional job to put me on tv. That show only lasted a season, but it had this incredible cast. Jason Ritter and Lizzie Caplan and Lucy Punch and John Bernenthal and directed by James Burroughs, who directed Cheers and Will and Grace and Friends. And so it was sort of like this blessed introduction into television. But that was a fun, interesting transition. But I do remember James Burroughs once coming over and turning me toward a camera because I was acting with the person doing the scene. He's like, no one can see what you're doing. So there was a learning curve for me.

[Sam Taggart]

Yes, of course.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

No, that's tough. I hate having to care about a camera. Even in a podcast, I'm always like,

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

oh, I know, I know, I know.

[George Severis]

Just let me feel my feelings.

[Sam Taggart]

Right.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know, but it was, it was. I'm very happy that I had that introduction with James Burroughs.

[George Severis]

Well, me and my husband went as Camera Mitch for Halloween this year.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Did you really?

[George Severis]

We did, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Did you go as Camera Mitch?

[George Severis]

I was Mitch, yes. I'll pull up a pic later, please.

[Sam Taggart]

This is like when I. When we had Kathy Griffin on. I pulled up a picture of me like, as a, like 18 year old going to her book signing, and I thought she'd be so moved by it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And then, of course, eat you alive.

[Sam Taggart]

It's like she deals with that every second of every day. Like the narcissism I have to. Have to be like, wow, she's gonna be so impressed.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She was a little bit.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

I guarantee you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She was a little bit. I guarantee you.

[Sam Taggart]

No, she was being super nice about her, but I was expecting a slightly bigger reaction. But it's like, of course, her entire life is like, gay guys being like, I loved you. When I was in college, I was fine.

[George Severis]

Being Mitch for Halloween is. It's a bit subtle because I was going for grounded. I was going for realism. So, you know, I just, like, I had like a red. I grew a beard and I got red dye, and then I had like a short red wig that we, like, cut, but it was like. And then I wore, like a gray V neck sweater with a gray button down under it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Dressed kind of bad.

[Sam Taggart]

But the thing with Cam just has the iconic.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The cuffs.

[Sam Taggart]

The cuffs.

[George Severis]

Well, yeah. And Misha, you had to carry around

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

a baby doll, didn't you?

[George Severis]

Well, I didn't carry around a baby doll because I was worried that people would think we like a. We're having a baby announcement.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Got it. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[George Severis]

So I was like, dangerous waters, Dangerous waters. So I didn't. We didn't carry a baby around, but, like, if we had been in, like, a brightly lit place, of course they would have been like, oh, your hair is red. But because it was like, I don't

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

know what she would do to, like, be Mitch. Like, what is. There's nothing other than a beard.

[Sam Taggart]

It's much more in the performance than the look.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes. Thank you.

[George Severis]

Yeah. And I don't think I was quite dropped into the character, you know, and people could really smell that on me.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. But if you were standing close enough to someone with crazy cuffs, they'd be like, oh, okay.

[George Severis]

Well, yeah, so my husband had the cuffs. Well, also, he looked great.

[Sam Taggart]

Even, like, the moves, it's like, well,

[George Severis]

just like doing that. And I have to be like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

A little like, I don't know about that.

[George Severis]

I'm cranky. I'm cranky.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right.

[George Severis]

I was like, this is tough.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Broad strokes.

[George Severis]

Yeah, you gotta go broad strokes. And then I was like, should we have both been Cam? The statement cuffs would have been more obvious.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

My older son this year wants to go as Darth Vader. And so we planned Halloween costumes around that. Like, we like to do a family thing. And so my 3 year old were like, okay, he'll be Baby Yoda. Cause that's cute.

[George Severis]

Fun.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And then I'll be. I'll be like, Luke Skywalker, you tell me what I'm going to be. And so then Beckett, my older son, was like, no, no, you're gonna be Luke. And Sully's also gonna be Darth Vader. So we had two Darth Vaders and I was Luke Skywalker. So they were my two dads.

[George Severis]

Oh, wow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

They didn't know that. They didn't get that. But I was like, this is fun.

[George Severis]

There's a gay plot line in there.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[George Severis]

Beautiful.

[Sam Taggart]

Two Darth Vader. I wonder if there is something happening in their head. Yeah, I feel like 2 dads, 2 Darth Vaders.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I guarantee you that was not happening. They've never even seen the movie. I don't even know why they wanted to be Darth Vader.

[George Severis]

That's one of the scariest things when kids just like absorb stuff through culture and don't know why. Yeah, I'm always like, how did this. Like when things get popular on kids, I'm like, that's Pluribus.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He wanted to be Marjorie Taylor Greene. I was like, you're not going to do that.

[Sam Taggart]

Just because she like.

[George Severis]

Because I was like, I don't know. Like at this point I have no idea what kids like. Maybe they love Marjorie Taylor Greene.

[Sam Taggart]

I mean, I do remember when we were kids had like the masks that were like a Reagan mask or like were so popular that I was like, I don't even know what Ronald Reagan's politics. I was really sad to be Ronald Racer.

[George Severis]

Yeah, the Nixon. I remember being like, don't know what his deal is. But I was like, but maybe that's a fun costume.

[Sam Taggart]

It also seemed dangerous. Politics was almost like talking about sex. Like it was just something adult that you didn't know about.

[George Severis]

Should we do our first segment?

[Sam Taggart]

Yes.

[George Severis]

Okay. Our first segment is called Straight Shooters. And in this segment we're going to ask you a series of rapid fire questions. It's basically this thing or this other thing to gauge your familiarity with and complicity in straight culture. The only rule is you can't ask any follow up questions or we will get so upset.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay. Winning a Tony or riding a pony?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Winning a Tony.

[George Severis]

Okay.

[Sam Taggart]

You would say that, wouldn't you?

[George Severis]

Okay. Attacks on billionaires or a wax on pubic hairs.

[Sam Taggart]

What?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Wait. I just want to make sure I understand the rules.

[Sam Taggart]

This sounds like a question you have to embrace the.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Okay, okay. Attacks on millionaires, billionaires, Stupid love or smart water? Stupid love.

[George Severis]

Applying daily sunscreen or crying gaily.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I feel seen applying sunscreen.

[Sam Taggart]

A cup of joe or ketchup. You're Slow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Catch up.

[George Severis]

You're slow. The testament of Ann Lee or the roast of this Tom Brady?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

This roast of Tom Brady.

[Sam Taggart]

Karma's a bitch. Or Cam's mad at Mitch?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Karma's a badge.

[George Severis]

Okay. Sociopathic thoughts or choreographic wants?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Sociopathic thoughts.

[Sam Taggart]

Beautiful.

[George Severis]

You did really well. No, there's no right and wrong.

[Sam Taggart]

There's no right and wrong. We basically just like to confuse people. It's about. And then how.

[George Severis]

It's about feeling comfortable with discomfort.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You know, that was just an exercise. Now it's sort of like an acting exercise.

[George Severis]

It's much like an acting.

[Sam Taggart]

It's an acting exercise. And. And we all failed.

[George Severis]

This is. Surprised. Oh, wait. First, we rate our guests on a scale of 0 to 1,000 doves, based

[Sam Taggart]

on the Lady Gaga song. 1,000 doves. This. This is a tough one. 8.998-99899. Congratulations.

[George Severis]

Congratulations.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Is that high?

[George Severis]

That's really good.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't know what your average is.

[Sam Taggart]

Lower.

[George Severis]

Low. Really low. Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And what is. Like, what are we. What are we rating me on, just, like, excitement level or just like, it's. That's all fan favorites.

[Sam Taggart]

Thank you for asking.

[George Severis]

Thank you for asking.

[Sam Taggart]

We really got away with not. You know, it's a. Basically, you're being thrown into the deep waters in this segment, and it's like we're basically yelling rhymes at you. And the whole point is to see how people react. Sometimes people get really upset, and they get really mad that they don't understand the rules and they, like, keep asking questions.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So they're gonna get a low score.

[Sam Taggart]

They're gonna low score or they'll get a high score because of their enthusiasm and because they are, you know, sort of.

[George Severis]

When they flatter us.

[Sam Taggart]

When they flatter us.

[George Severis]

Yes, yes, yes. But you did something which I found very brave, which was you were scared,

[Sam Taggart]

and then you said, you succumb to.

[George Severis]

You said, that's okay.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, it was a real professor.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I saw the look in your eyes. You're like, don't fucking ask questions. And I was like, that's all right.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

All right.

[Sam Taggart]

And to be respected in that way is all we ever really need.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Wow.

[George Severis]

All we ever really need.

[Sam Taggart]

And sometimes you don't get that.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I hear you day to day, most

[Sam Taggart]

times, especially in this town.

[George Severis]

Honey, honey, honey.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Support for the show comes from public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi. Multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable Index with AI it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures kids pets, life.

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[George Severis]

Well, then, should we get into the topic?

[Sam Taggart]

Let's do it.

[George Severis]

Jesse, what straight topic would you like to discuss today?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, I would love to get into bad lighting.

[Sam Taggart]

Bad lighting. And so we've done overhead lighting before, but I think this is a much broader. This is a much broader topic. So.

[George Severis]

Yeah, how would you define bad lighting?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, I mean, we're kind of looking at it.

[Sam Taggart]

Well. Yeah, we are very much being blinded by white light.

[George Severis]

Yeah, we are being blinded by white light. And it's actually so brave to have a conversation about bad lighting as we're

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

being bad as we're in it. We moved, I don't know, like, four or five years ago, and we moved into a house that was a new build. It's a beautiful home because I'm gonna talk a little bit about some major mistakes that were made in this home, but it's all like Lutron lighting. Everything's programmed.

[George Severis]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And the amount it took me. I'm not even. This is not an exaggeration. It took me over the course of a year and a half to program all the lighting to be in a correct, like, hue. That's the wrong word.

[Sam Taggart]

Like the level of dimness, you mean?

[George Severis]

Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I was astonished that this man who built this house. It was like a tennis court inside the house. And it took so much time for me to install dimmers. And just like, I don't understand why dimmers were just not, like, immediately a part of it and why it was programmed like a 100%. It was just. I mean, I would hesitate to come home at night, I mean, because I had to sit in that lighting for a little while and go around and dim things. And it was. It was really. It put a heavy tax on me.

[George Severis]

I can't even imagine. I mean, I think one thing that's straight about it, right off the bat, of course, is what you're asking for is a spectrum. And that he's saying that. He's saying it's binary as a Binary. It's either on or it's out of.

[Sam Taggart]

On or off.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[George Severis]

And you were saying, no. There's so much space in between. And that space is beautiful.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Space is so beautiful. I've been known. So I remember I finally got some. The dining room and the kitchen and the areas that we would entertain in. I tackled those areas first, and so I kind of got them in a place where, like, if you turn on this one switch, it's gonna be at a lighting level that feels comfortable to me. I'm so controlling about it. I knew that my husband was having a dinner party when I was in New York, and I got onto the cameras and I looked to see, you know, I just kind of want to see who was there.

[Sam Taggart]

You're like, this reflects poorly on me.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm gonna sound like a crazy person after this story. The lighting was off, and so I can control that from my phone. I have all the apps. So I went on there, and I was like, that's not the dinner mode. It should be.

[Sam Taggart]

You're in, like, poltergeist mode.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Just like. And also, I should say right now, my lighting comfort level is way darker than it should be.

[George Severis]

Well, that's what I was gonna ask. In your relationship, is there a difference in lighting?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Justin could kick it up a little bit.

[Sam Taggart]

You're a mixed lighting relationship.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, definitely. Like, I feel really dark.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I want it to feel like the bar we were talking about.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm the same way.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I want it really dark.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So I adjusted the lighting, and I saw the cameras, you know, like, all the lights and people looking around. And Justin texted me. He's like, what the fuck are you doing? Get to adjusting the lighting. I was like, it's not the right lighting for dinner. You can't eat in that lighting.

[George Severis]

People are gonna talk in this town. I mean, can you imagine? Everyone leaves, and they go to their various networks and say they have a dinner.

[Sam Taggart]

Talented actor.

[George Severis]

But his house, the lighting.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You've been to people's homes where, like, you walk in and, like, the lighting is. And you're like, how am I gonna survive this night?

[George Severis]

Oh, honey, I'm turning off the lights. I've been known to turn off.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I have been known to do this. I will go around, turn off the overheads, which I know was another topic. And I'll pull out lamps from other rooms. Like, I'll make it. And people, they see the lighting design that I offer at the end of this, you know, reconstruction of their apartment, and they're happy with it. They're always happy. Like, that is better.

[George Severis]

Well, of course, they love to, you know, treat you like you're insane at first as you're moving things all around. And then you're always proven right.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Everyone's happier.

[Sam Taggart]

Everyone's happier. It's a very gay thing to view lighting as part of the decor, basically. Like, and I don't mean like a beautiful lamp. I mean the lighting itself. Like, straight people can understand that a painting is decor, that a rug is decor.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

But they can still be, like, lighting is on or off. And there's no. And there's no. Like, that's not. It's a different. It's not an aesthetic thing. It's a functionality thing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No.

[George Severis]

Okay. How do you feel about funky lighting? I'm talking colors. I'm talking.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I drove by this house.

[Sam Taggart]

No, I really struggle with. Ooh.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I drove by this house the other night. It's on Laurel Canyon. And I drove by and it is all purple, black light inside.

[George Severis]

Oh, God.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And outside.

[Sam Taggart]

Whoa.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, the lighting, the landscape lighting. The light is under. The stairs were purple. It looked like some sort of a spaceship. Absolutely not. It was like, this is like the modern day version of a lava lamp. Like, no.

[George Severis]

The college dorm vibes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

My kids have the spaceman thing in their room, and it projects stars onto the ceiling. And I even struggle with that. Yeah, I struggle with that. I've had to, like, a few nights I've had to stay in my kid's room with them after they've had a nightmare, and I'm like, and they need that light on. It's like their nightlight. And I really have a hard time. I know when I shut my eyes, I was like, I know. Those neon stars are just beyond these shut eyes. It bothers me.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, the thing with the purple light, it's like we have planned everything in this room to look a certain way under white light. That's why I bought this couch with this rug with this table. A purple hue will literally make everything a different color. I don't know if it still matches.

[George Severis]

No, I have to say something. So we set up Christmas lights last month, and my husband was like, well, can we keep up the colored ones in the backyard for a little bit longer? And I was like, we are so close. It is a slippery slope to becoming Fort Lauderdale gay guys. We have to hold onto some sense of class.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Do you want to keep colored lights up?

[George Severis]

He wanted to keep colored lights up. And I have a confession. They're still up up.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Because by the time this episode airs, Those lights better be down.

[George Severis]

They're going to be down. And it's just because, of course, I want to encourage a sense of fun and whimsy. But for us in particular, you've got to be careful because Fort Lauderdale gay is incoming.

[Sam Taggart]

No, it's really.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's tough. Yeah. One year, our friend, he is great with Christmas decor and stuff, and we were having a big party and I wanted some outdoor lighting. And he's like, well, there's actually a cheaper way to do this. We could get up lighting and then we don't have to string a lot of lights. So it's like whatever you think. It looked like we were hosting the Golden Clothes and we had to sit with this lighting for like a month. Cause it wasn't just for the party. He installed it for the whole holidays.

[Sam Taggart]

Whoa.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And I was like, if you ever do that to me again. Welcome to the 96th annual Golden Globes.

[George Severis]

It just.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I felt so cheap.

[George Severis]

That is so funny.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Never again.

[George Severis]

You know, I'm realizing something quite inspiring, which is that, you know, people always talk about when you have kids and your life changes, it's nice that you can have kids and still really obsess over the lighting.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

I think that's the difference between being gay and being straight. If you're straight and have kids, you give up on the lighting. If you're gay and have kids, somehow you get more anal about the lighting.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'll go into their bedrooms and, like, turn on the lamps and turn off the overhead and, like, close the curtains.

[Sam Taggart]

That's literally.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm the only one that does this, though. My in laws don't do it. My husband doesn't do it.

[George Severis]

Really?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

No.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But then it's like, do you care?

[Sam Taggart]

People have different aesthetic fixations. Like, do you. Are you super controlling about, like, what they wear?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, I'm not.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. See, like, there's other gay guys that would be, like, very obsessed with, like, you can't be wearing these.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, I prefer them to not wear certain things. Like, I try and steer them, but, like, I'm not gonna fight them on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

No, but I think that is actually when people, like, are alarmist about gay parenting. That's the number one thing is being controlling about aesthetic. Aesthetic categories. Like, that is what's different between having straight parents and gay parents. It has nothing to do with, like, the same sex attraction. It has to do with, like, growing up and being terrified they're going to turn the light on too much.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That and just like, these. These plastic Toys that are really going to with it.

[Sam Taggart]

Because that's the equivalent of, like, a straight father being really strict about, like, the son being good at baseball or something.

[George Severis]

That's right. It's like, you better know how to set a mood.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, no, exactly.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Also, my kids are the only ones who can get away with if they're like, we need more light. We're working on legos right now. You can't see anything. I'm like, all right, go ahead. You can do it.

[George Severis]

You have, like, an amazingly chic, like, table lamp. Did you really?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I got, like, one of those, like, little portable lights that you guys like. Well, what if I brought this over to you at the LEGO station?

[Sam Taggart]

It doesn't ruin the vibe of the rest of.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I have done that. That's so funny that you said that, because I literally have done that. I was gonna offer that as a solution.

[Sam Taggart]

So dimmers. Okay, I'm with you in that I like everything to be dim.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

Dimmers stress me out. Because every time you have to make a decision, I know, I want it to be like, I wanna make one decision. And it's like, this is what lighting is for. Dim.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

If you can have a system where you can program all that and take the time and then you just press a button and it's like, it goes there, but yeah. Yeah. And it does, like, create issues when it's, like, time to go to bed and you have to go around turning everything off. It takes me, like, five minutes to shut down the house.

[Sam Taggart]

That is amazing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

No, we have programmed lights, of course.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, this is something I've noticed more and more. In Los Angeles, in the apartment that I'm staying at, a friend's place was out of town. And there's this three page document of how to water the plants, blah, blah. And there's a section that's like, lights, and just. It literally goes. We have three different apps for turning on the lights. I'm like, three.

[George Severis]

Well, that needs some optimization.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Sorry to have the SF on me still, but no. Now that I have the lights programmed and I'm in a place where they're not there, I'm like, wait, I have to turn each lamp on.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Which I kind of miss, I gotta say.

[George Severis]

I mean, there's a romanticism.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my God, so romantic. To turning off.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I do miss that a little bit. I used to live in this old Spanish house, and, like, we had the knob lights that you had to, like, turn this way.

[George Severis]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I really missed that.

[George Severis]

There's something to it. There's something to it. But I find. And, like, my laziness knows no bounds. Like, I even find, like, you talking about turning off all the lights, like, in my. Like, my house is small. Like, going from my bedroom to the front door is a very short distance. But if I forget to lock the door, I'm like, I'm just gonna risk it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There might be an intruder. I don't know. I'm just gonna risk it.

[George Severis]

I'm like, whatever. It's a hard door to see. Maybe they won't see it.

[Sam Taggart]

Are there things that your husband is really intentional about that you don't care about that are aesthetic? Like, music, volume, cooking, like, oh, God, I'm trying to think.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's really all me. He does, like. I mean, if we go into a place and there's no music, he's like, what the fuck are we doing here?

[Sam Taggart]

No, that stuff.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We went to a birthday party the other day, and granted, it was outside in a neighborhood and it was at night, and so I'm sure there was some noise regulations, but why is there no music? He's sort of the music police. But no, no. I mean, it's mostly me.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Me.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's mostly me. He can kind of roll with anything.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. Sometimes that's healthier to have one partner be the, like, particular one.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Sometimes I know he enjoys it when I do it.

[George Severis]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah. I think.

[George Severis]

Do you and Matthew have.

[Sam Taggart]

Matthew's definitely the more particular one. But then. What? But. But I'm also particular. It's just that he's so particular.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And then, of course, I do enjoy that. Everything always looks nice and everything. You know, I live in a aesthetically nice space. But then, of course, when I. When it's my turn to be particular, I have a chip on my shoulder where I'm like, well, we do everything you want to do, so. And the one time I want to make like this instead of this, like, I guess you don't care. He's like, I didn't even say no to it.

[George Severis]

You use it to rebel.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, kind of.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Or I will project onto him. Like, I'll be like, we need new side table. We need new bedside tables. He hasn't said anything yet. And in my mind, I'm like, he's probably not gonna like these because they're not nice enough.

[George Severis]

You guys do. I love when you guys get bicker mode. Like, you guys can, like, put on a character of, like, bickering.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

It's so like, look at this gay Couple.

[Sam Taggart]

I know it's sort of. But it is a joke. But of course. Yeah, it's. Well, we're both. You know, he's a. He's a professional restaurant critic, so it's like, imagine what being married to a restaurant critic would be like. That's what it's like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, kind of fascinating.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. It's very.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, are you able to go out and eat and just have him enjoy a meal or is he always.

[George Severis]

No. Well, I will say two times I've been out on a dinner with you guys when he's reviewing even. It seeps into me where I'm like, I'm not a food critic completely. And I'm like, oop. I was gonna take points for that. I can't not be thinking of it in that way.

[Sam Taggart]

So.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Interesting. I'm really friendly with Bill Addison, who's LA Times Food A critic. And we've gotten. Justin and I have gone out to dinner with him a few times. And it is that thing where it's like, if we like something, we don't want to influence him either. And we're like, what do you think about this? But I'm sorry, we're totally getting off. No, no. But like, there's been such a shift in this culture too, because, like, there was a whole point where, like, you weren't supposed to know who any of these people were who were critiquing restaurants.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, they would wear wigs.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes. And they would have fake. They would wear wigs. Or they'd have fake credit cards. Or not fake credit cards. Credit cards. That worked.

[Sam Taggart]

He does make reservations under a fake name.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

A fake name.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But now that's sort of going away.

[Sam Taggart]

I know there was a big thing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There was a big thing recently.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. One of. Oh, God. Not Pete Wells. I can't believe. I don't remember. But one of the big food critics a few years ago had a whole essay that was like, the mask is coming down and I'm using my real name. And it just. This is the new era now. The two. Two women that they hired at the New York Times do, like. Literally.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's what I was just reading about.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And they're just like doing TikToks reviewing. And it's their face, like front facing camera style. Yeah. Matthew, he almost hasn't committed to one or the other. So he'll make reservations under a fake name. I think at this point, every restaurant in New York knows that.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

They know.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Cause he's had this job for a number of years and so they all recognize him, but there's just like, they're literally like sending free apps or whatever. And he's just like not addressing that it's happening. Right, right, right.

[George Severis]

One of my, my neighbor here actually used to live in New York and was like, like, worked at a restaurant, was like part owner or something.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And I was like, somehow you guys came up and like. And I was like, and his husband does lalala. And he was like, no, I know. Like, we had a photo of him in the kitchen and I would like, I like had to memorize who he was. And I'm like, whoa, that's so weird.

[Sam Taggart]

But to answer your or your. Someone asked like, do I feel.

[George Severis]

I didn't ask anything.

[Sam Taggart]

Do I feel more like critical? When I go out to eat, it goes back and forth between like what you're saying where I'm like, I embody. I'm like, well, I'm the first lady of New York food. And so I have to, I have to have an opinion on this. And I become like super, super picky. And then I will rebel against it and be like, all this is bullshit. I want a burger. Like, all of you people like have forgotten how to have fun.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Sam Taggart]

Speaking of restaurants, your podcast Dinners on Me is filmed at restaurants.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right. Yes.

[Sam Taggart]

What is your.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right, that's correct. How'd you know that?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[George Severis]

That was amazing. I've seen.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh my God. I've seen. I've seen clips and stuff. It's. What?

[George Severis]

No, you're just nailing this. You're doing such a good job.

[Sam Taggart]

I know. Well, I'm a professional.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm a professional.

[Sam Taggart]

What is your favorite one you've been to?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Well.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh gosh. So I've gotten to do episodes in New York Los Angeles and London and. Oh, wow. I mean, here in la, we just went to. Well, I'm just about to go to Max and Helen's with Ted Danson this week, which I'm very excited about. But because it's a very. It's a very hard restaurant to get into, people are waiting many, many hours to get in. So I'm excited to go with him. Where else did I just go? Found oyster. Love Found oyster. So good to die for. Some of the places that I love in la. I actually haven't had my. I haven't done my podcast at. I would love to do one at Bestia.

[Sam Taggart]

What is your dream guest? Dream location combo?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Ooh, good question. I mean, I would love to get Michelle Obama on, and I would love to take her. I mean, listen, I'll go wherever she wants to go.

[Sam Taggart]

Akbar Akbar.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, my God.

[Sam Taggart]

That is absolutely.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Nailed it. Michelle Obama at Akbar Akbar.

[George Severis]

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. You have to get the tequila soda.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

My God. Just hope that the tamale guys outside. That's it.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, great. I mean, that would really do wonders for. Come on.

[George Severis]

That would be huge.

[Sam Taggart]

I wonder what Michelle Obama would be like in a gay bar setting. I mean, she'd probably.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Fabulous.

[George Severis]

I think she'd nail it. I think she'd really nail it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

I mean, Malia is, like, all over the east side all the time.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, is she?

[George Severis]

Yeah, I'm seeing her out and about.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, she's a. You know, we have many friends who have worked with her because she's a TV writer, and she's like, like, right, right, right, right.

[George Severis]

It's one of those things where I'm always like. It's weird when, like, someone. When you don't know what someone's, like, connection to power will do to you. Like, just seeing her out, I'm like, whoa, this is crazy. Like, more so than, like, seeing someone famous. Like, I'm like, this is so weird because it's not like, I'm like, I love Malia. Like, I don't know what her deal is, but I was like, that is crazy.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I. I've become very good friends with Chelsea Clinton, and I'm just endlessly fascinated with what her life is, because everyone knows who she is. Everyone knows who she is, and everyone. Not only that, but everyone knows so much about her. And it's not like she was on a sitcom that she grew up on, like, the kids on my show. She was just living her life, but she had to go through puberty in front of all of us horrifying. And she's the first to say. She's like, I had a. There was a. A lot of really awkward stages that I went through on television. You know, she's like standing next to her father being sworn into office, and it's like she's going through an acne breakout. It's like, it's just fascinating.

[George Severis]

I mean, that is such a nightmare. Really hurt.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But to come out on the other side, I mean, she's a remarkable person.

[Sam Taggart]

It is like being on a reality show. It's like exactly like being on a reality show, except you have 0,0 editor. Like no control over the coverage. At any given point, a horrible photo of you can be well.

[George Severis]

And just like you're implicated in some of the craziest people's craziest thoughts. That's the part that really freaks me out, is I'm just being in conspiracy theories just by being alive. I'm like, what a nightmare.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know, I know. I mean, it's not a life I would ever wish upon myself.

[George Severis]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

And none of the kids do.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's not their fault. No, no, no.

[Sam Taggart]

I went to college in the same college as Chelsea Clinton and her. The dorm she lived in freshman year still has bulletproof windows and it's the only one. And you can see it's a different color than all of the other windows in that building, which is like such a dark.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Also that was a little bit of like a low key flex because she went to a very fancy school and you must be very smart.

[Sam Taggart]

That's how you become. That's how you become one of the medium successful podcasters in this town. Okay, well, Michelle Obama at Akbar.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Right. We'll see you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

There you go.

[George Severis]

That would be amazing. There was a point where I'm like, I'm so addicted to going to gay bars that, like, gay bars are sort of more my restaurant because restaurants, I can take them or leave them.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, you don't romanticize restaurants in the same way that I do.

[George Severis]

I wish there was a counter for every restaurant. Just like, give me the food and let me run away.

[Sam Taggart]

Right.

[George Severis]

Like, I can have fun at a restaurant. Don't get me wrong.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But occasionally you can find some really good food at a gay bar.

[George Severis]

I mean, I mean, Julius.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Or like, let me rephrase that.

[George Severis]

Yeah. I'm like, we're like trying to go with you. Like, we're like, yeah, no, the Julius.

[Sam Taggart]

Julius food is like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's what I was gonna say. Julius in the West Village.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like Legitimately, pretty good.

[Sam Taggart]

I completely agree.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, it's tough. Eating at a gay bar is like, except for Julius, like the precinct here downtown.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, I have not.

[Sam Taggart]

Not.

[George Severis]

I've been there, but I've never eaten the food because I'm like, it just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right to order, like, chicken tenders here.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, the Abbey has, like, a pretty popular. First of all, you can order literally anything at the Abbey, but very popular brunch.

[George Severis]

Oh, I didn't realize this.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. And then. Oh, my God, someone's telling me a story about being at Club Cafe, which is one of the most tragic gay clubs in Boston, and just seeing a man eating chicken salad at the counter. Oh, okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Golly, that's amazing.

[Sam Taggart]

What is your restaurant origin story? What was the first restaurant that made you romanticize fine dining? Or not even fine dining, but the experience of going to a restaurant?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, I was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and I love, like, New Mexican cuisine specifically. It's different than Mexican cuisine. And it's. It's very specific to that region. A lot of green chili.

[George Severis]

And

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

there was a restaurant, I don't even remember the name of it, but we would eat there every Christmas Eve. And it just was. I don't know, it was just like. It wasn't even the food necessarily that was so amazing. It was just the vibe of the restaurant. It was a special place that we went to every year. And that was the first restaurant that I remember absolutely loving and kind of realizing that going out to eat is like a special thing that is different than having this meal at home or. And then I did a play in New York called Fully Committed. Do you know this play? It's about a reservationist at a very high end, like, Michelin star restaurant. And it's a one man play and the actor plays the reservationist, but then also all these people trying to call in to get tables. So he plays all these different archetypes of society, and he plays the chef and the maitre d, and it's all done over telephones. So it's this actor basically having conversations with himself. But as research, I got to go to some of the top restaurants and tour the kitchens and also the reservation rooms. So we went to Danielle, we went to Gramercy Tavern, and we went to. Oh, gosh, what are some of the other big ones in New York per se?

[Sam Taggart]

The grill.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, is it per se. Is out.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, sure, sure, sure. Yes, yes.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. I mean, yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

Macaroni.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Did you say macaroni?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Grill.

[Sam Taggart]

No, I said the grill.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, the grill.

[George Severis]

Oh, my God.

[Sam Taggart]

Macaroni grill. Macaroni Grill. Tj. Friday, Tuesdays.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I. I had such an incredible time, like, doing that and also, like, getting to, oh, like, ABC Kitchen, like, all those places, and it was. I don't know, I gained even a deeper respect for the people that, you know, make those places, you know what they are.

[Sam Taggart]

I'm weirdly reading Kitchen Confidential for the first time. Oh, it's so good for some reason, and it's so good, but it just is, like, it's like being in the trenches. Like, how do they do it? None of them are paid well. Like, it's just like, you are just at war and constantly getting injured and burned. Someone's yelling at you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I mean, it's sort of like how I feel. Like theater actors. We're not getting paid a lot of money to do these things, and we're working so hard. You show up and do this thing eight times a week, and you have to do it live, and it's for the love of it. And that's how I feel like chefs are sometimes. I mean, there are obviously people who are wildly successful and have made a ton of money doing it, but it really is for the love of the game, and they just have such a deep passion for it. And I think when anyone comes at something with that amount of passion and desire to put their best foot forward, I don't know, I just really respect that so much.

[George Severis]

Well, that's how we do horrible shows at horrible bars.

[Sam Taggart]

That's true. Yeah. Should we do our final segment?

[George Severis]

I think we should. So our final segment is called Shout Outs. And in this segment, we pay homage to the grand strait tradition of the radio.

[Sam Taggart]

Shout out.

[George Severis]

And shout out anything that we are enjoying. People, places, things, ideas.

[Sam Taggart]

We think of them on the spot,

[George Severis]

which is why we are both stalling.

[Sam Taggart]

But we will do ours first when we think of them.

[George Severis]

Okay. When we think of them. Let's see, let's see, let's see. Okay, okay, okay, okay.

[Sam Taggart]

I can go.

[George Severis]

Go for it.

[Sam Taggart]

Mine's gonna be so too late. Like, when this comes out, it'll be so relevant. But it doesn't.

[George Severis]

Can't wait.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Rivalry.

[Sam Taggart]

Can you imagine? Oh, my God. One of them was like, one of the actors from Heated Robbery was like. He was talking about how he's not on social media anymore. Not one of the main two, one of the other two, Francois, and he's like, yeah, I just, like, realized that it was a mass psychosis event, and I Didn't want to participate in it. And I was like, good for you for recognizing that it's a mass psychosis.

[George Severis]

He's, like, French Canadian, right?

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah. I sort of love him.

[George Severis]

No, when someone is French Canadian, I'm like, damn, he really got the best of both worlds.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah. Truly.

[George Severis]

It's like you get to be pretentious and smart, and you're, like, grounded and normal. Yeah. Must be nice.

[Sam Taggart]

What's up, cinephiles? I want to give a shout out to the Testament of Ann Lee, which Sam and I just saw in theaters. Again. This will be four months ago by this point, but, yeah, I pretty much want to give a shout out to Testament of Ann Lee. And I want to say that Searchlight Pictures, you are in the doghouse for not appropriately campaigning Ms. Amanda Seyfried.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I love her so much.

[Sam Taggart]

What more does she have to do for you people?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She's great.

[Sam Taggart]

She's incredible. She's so. She's so in it and so focused. There are things in that movie I've never seen on screen before. It is. What a fun time to be celebrating Shakerism with its combination of social justice and celibacy, things I would love to see more of in this town. And I just. I love the dancing. I think if. If all they have to do is pay some tiktokers to make the dance go viral, and then she could have gotten nominated for an Oscar. They couldn't even do that. That. What, is everyone asleep at the wheel here?

[George Severis]

Hello.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I haven't seen it yet, but I love her, and I see everything she does. I think she's spectacular. I'm so excited to see that film.

[Sam Taggart]

She's great. She does this dance.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I heard about it. Yeah.

[Sam Taggart]

It's like, that could. Why is that not more of a cultural phenomenon? Anyway, whatever. Searchlight Pictures, they drop the ball. You drop the ball.

[George Severis]

It was made to be a little meme.

[Sam Taggart]

I literally got an ad for the movie, and it said, independent Spirit Award nominee for Best Editor Editing. I'm saying that is not what you should be putting on that poster. Like, that is crazy. Although, of course, I love editors, and they deserve. They deserve everything, and I hope they get that Independent Spirit Award. Shout out, Amanda Seyfried.

[George Severis]

Shout out, Amanda. Okay. What's up, eaters? I'm gonna give a food shout out, which is very unlike me. I want to give a shout out to the bagel place in la. Maury's Bagels. I have been going there for the last month because I. When I first got Here was like, of course LA won't have good bagels, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I don't want to do the super trendy courage bagels. And then one day I was like, enough, I need to eat a bagel. And I went to this place and it is completely to die for. Sure it's not a New York bagel, doesn't quite have the fluff, but they're putting a lot of love and care into it. And it does that thing that is so hard with a bagel where the stuff doesn't fall off as you're eating it, even though it is open faced. Never in my life have I had the stuff not fall off while I'm eating it. And I do from Maury's Bagel Bagels. And on top of it all, as someone who has never liked locks, never understood it, they are teaching me how to like locks. I am now ordering lox on the bagel. I am enjoying it and I am developing a more mature palette. So shout out. Shout out. Xoxo Sam.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Very nice.

[George Severis]

I love locks.

[Sam Taggart]

Now, Jesse, you can shout out anything on your mind. It can be literally, it can be just Michelle Obama.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I have. This is not a new artist. This is not someone that's a fresh faced person. But it is someone who I've for some reason like rediscovered and I'm listening to almost every day. And that's Rufus Wainwright.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I remember first hearing his debut album when I was living in New York and I was like, I love this guy, he's great. And I followed his career and then I just like, I just stopped listening to him and. And for some reason I think he showed up on my social media and I listen. Oh, I listened to him sing that Sara Bareilles song from Waitress. She Used to be Mine.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, was that. Because he just did that Carlisle residency and I feel like maybe that's where it was. I feel like he was having a moment because of that. A lot of people I know in New York that I didn't think of as Rufus Wainwright superfans were there and like he brought out special guests and

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think maybe that was part of that night. I just saw it on my Instagram and first of all, I love that song. I love Sara Bareilles. And I was like, well, this is, this is heavenly. So I started listening from the beginning. Like I just started listening to his old albums again and then discovered all this new stuff that he has and I, I forgot. I see. I saw him at the Hollywood bowl when he did His Judy Garland show. And I just think he's one of those artists that is timeless. And obviously, he comes from such great pedigree, but, like, he is. I don't know why I stopped listening to him. Like, I don't know why I don't listen to him more often. And he's deep in my rotation again.

[Sam Taggart]

Wow. Shout out Rufus Wainwright.

[George Severis]

That's huge.

[Sam Taggart]

It's a huge day for gay men and music.

[George Severis]

That's true.

[Sam Taggart]

The guest before you was perfume genius.

[George Severis]

I heard.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I heard to die For.

[Sam Taggart]

Well, the podcast is Dinner's on me.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's right.

[Sam Taggart]

And we'll see you at Max and Helen's.

[George Severis]

See you at Max and Helen's.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

What are you gonna get? Do you know?

[Sam Taggart]

I don't know. Well, isn't it just, like, pancakes?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's diner food.

[Sam Taggart]

Yeah, but it's like elevated diner food.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I don't even call it. I don't know if that says elevated. It's delicious. It's very well done.

[Sam Taggart]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

The waffle, the tuna melt.

[Sam Taggart]

Ooh, I love it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Reuben gum, the hot chocolate.

[George Severis]

I'm starving.

[Sam Taggart]

Oh, my God. Okay, we're going. We're going. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Thank you.

[George Severis]

Bye.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Bye.

[Sam Taggart]

Podcast ends now for our visual learners. You can watch full video episodes on our YouTube channel and subscribe to our

[George Severis]

Patreon for two extra episodes a month

[Sam Taggart]

at patreon.com Stradiolab Stradiolab is a production

[George Severis]

by Will Ferrell's Big Money players network

[Sam Taggart]

and iHeart podcasts, created and hosted by me, George Severis and Sam Taggart, executive

[George Severis]

produced by Jenna Cagle, co produced by

[Sam Taggart]

Becca Ramos, edited by Lauren Stumpf and mixed and mastered by Doug Boehm.

[George Severis]

Artwork by Michael Fails and Matt Cor Grub theme music by Ben Kling.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all seem to be in a rush these days, from work to driving our kids around. But when you're behind the wheel, please do not speed.

[George Severis]

A few minutes saved by going faster is never worth the risk. So follow the speed limit, enjoy the

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

drive, maybe bring some snacks from for the kids. And know that along the way, you're getting quality time with your family, paid for by nhtsa.

[Sam Taggart]

If you work in university maintenance, Grainger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off. And Grainger is your trusted partner, offering

[George Severis]

the products you need all in one

[Sam Taggart]

place, from H VAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more. And all delivered with plenty of time

[George Severis]

left on the clock.

[Sam Taggart]

So your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAINGER visit grainger.com or just stop by grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed and reward. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit [e-mail] or just come by our store.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We can't wait to meet you.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.