Sofia Vergara/Instagram (2)
Fans Slam ‘Modern Family’ Cast for Ty Burrell Photo at Reunion: ‘This Made Me Think He Was Dead’
Don’t worry, Modern Family fans, Ty Burrell is not dead — but his framed photo at the recent cast reunion sparked concern.
Sofia Vergara, who played Gloria on the long-running ABC sitcom, shared several photos and videos from the cast’s gathering on Wednesday, November 15. Nearly all of the show’s stars were present at the party, including Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Julie Bowen, Ed O’Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez and others.
Ty, 56, who played dad Phil Dunphy on Modern Family, was missing. However, his former costars honored him via a poster made to look like a framed portrait of the actor. While the gesture was sweet, it made many fans fear that Ty had died.
“THIS MADE ME THINK HE WAS DEAD I PANICKED LMAO,” one fan commented on a video of the cast shouting, “We miss you, Ty!” as his poster sat on the mantle above a burning fireplace.
“I had to check Google to make sure he didn’t die,” another user wrote.
In another photo, the stars — who were mostly dressed in black, adding to the funeral speculation — all posed for a group shot, with Alex Dunphy actress Ariel, 25, holding the poster.
“Bruh I thought Phil died, I almost had a mini heart attack,” a fan commented.
“Typical Phil, making us think the worse. He should have been the robot iPad thing if he couldn’t make it,” another fan added, referencing a plot line from Modern Family.
Ty hasn’t revealed why he could not attend the reunion, but it was likely due to a scheduling conflict. He was clearly missed at the party, so there doesn’t appear to be any bad blood between him and the rest of the cast. This gathering marked the first near-complete cast reunion since the series ended.
Ariel later addressed the death rumors in her own reunion post, writing on Instagram, “I can see how this looks but Ty is alive and well I PROMISE. He’ll definitely be there for the next one.”
Sofia, 51, shared several other moments from the reunion, including photos of the cast sitting on the couch, laughing with wine glasses in hand. In one snap, the Amerca’s Got Talent judge could be seen cracking up as she sat on the floor beside Mitchell Pritchett actor Jesse, 48. Another photo showed her snuggled up next to Ed, 77, who played Pritchett-Dunphy patriarch Jay Pritchett on Modern Family. In another post, Jesse posed with Ty’s poster on the mantle.
Modern Family aired for 11 seasons from 2009 to 2020 and followed several generations of the Pritchett clan. The sitcom received 22 Emmys throughout its lifetime, including five Best Comedy wins in a row. When Modern Family came to an end, the stars remembered it fondly with touching tributes online.
“It’s been an amazing journey with my #ModernFamily. It’s hard to type this because it still doesn’t feel real,” Ariel wrote on Instagram. “We are all so grateful for the love we’ve received over the course of this 11 year journey. To know our fans love our family just as much as we do is the most amazing gift.”
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. To put it in Bachelor terms, I’ve had an incredible journey with this show. Our cast and crew were always phenomenal and we very quickly grew to be a real life #modernfamily,” Haley Dunphy actress Sarah, 29, shared alongside an Instagram carousel. “I will miss these people tremendously but am so grateful I was lucky enough to work with them.”
