Jesse Tyler Ferguson Recalls Getting 'Trapped' at Joan Rivers' Shiva While 'Modern Family' Needed Him on Set

It looks like the late Joan Rivers is getting the last laugh at the expense of Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The Modern Family star spoke about being stuck at Rivers’ shiva while filming Season 7 of the hit show.

On the recent episode of his podcast, “Dinner’s on Me,” Ferguson explained to his guest, Arturo Castro, how he wanted to pay respects to Rivers at her shiva while on a long lunch during production.

“I got to know Joan Rivers a little bit at the end of her life, and I was invited to her shiva when she passed away. She lived in the Pacific Palisades, and we were shooting an episode of Modern Family at [Palisades Charter High School],” he said.

Ferguson also explained that the show’s producers planned to attend and got the okay to go. While at Rivers’ estate as the rabbi began to speak, he received a text from production asking if he could be back in five minutes because some scenes were switched. However, he encountered a small problem.

“I showed the text message to Kathy Griffin, who was standing next to me, and I was like, ‘How, how do I get out of here? I’m supposed to be on set.’ And she’s like, ‘You can’t leave. The rabbi’s literally standing in front of the front door.’”

Ferguson also explained that instead of getting help from Griffin, he was roasted by her just as Rivers would’ve done. “This is Joan looking down on your f---ing a--,” he recalled Griffin saying to him.

He said he tried to escape after being “trapped at the shiva” by looking for a back gate, but there were hedges. Eventually, he was able to get out of the shiva and get back to the set.

Ferguson made it back to set unscathed and finished filming for season seven.

The Emmy Award-winning show went on to last for four more seasons. The show ended in 2020 after an 11-year run.

Rivers passed away in 2014 at 81. At the time of her death, she was remembered by the likes of Amy Poehler, Barbra Streisand, Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and many others.

“It is almost impossible to describe how much I adored Joan and how much she has meant to me," Rancic wrote about her Fashion Police co-host. “She was not only the funniest woman I have ever met but was incredibly loving, honest, and lived her life with no regrets. Working with her for the last 13 years has been one of the true joys of my life. She could put a smile on your face instantly, no matter how hard your day was. My heart goes out to Melissa and Cooper, who have lost something that can never be replaced. Their bond was truly one-of-a-kind. They had the greatest mother and grandmother anyone could have ever hoped for. My life is so much fuller and happier because I got to share it with this beautiful person, a true genius. I woke up today unable to grasp what the world will be like without her and, at the same time, feel so privileged to have called her my friend.”

“I first met Joan Molinsky, that was her real name, when I was 17 years old, and we were both in an off-Broadway show called ‘Driftwood.’ She was a real character then and now. I am so upset by her passing. She was too young and had too much to do still,” Streisand wrote.