All right, our first guest from Modern Family.
Now he is the author of a brand new cookbook called,
Food Between Friends.
Please Welcome Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
Hi.
Hi, Ellen.
I know it's really nice having a live audience there,
but you are just as funny and clever
and effervescent without them.
So, like, you're doing an amazing job.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
I was laughing at home.
Thank you so much, Jesse.
That's so sweet.
First of all, I want to compliment you
on your pretty kitchen.
That's a very pretty kitchen you're in.
Is it a little on the nose that I'm doing this from a kitchen,
talking about a cookbook?
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
I think it's smart.
It's smart, brings it right back.
If we stray from the conversation,
it goes right back to the kitchen.
But first, before we get to that,
I haven't seen you since you became a dad.
And you have Beckett.
Is that his name?
[APPLAUSE]
Yeah.
How old is he?
He is eight months old, as of yesterday.
[AWWW]
Come on.
[LAUGHS]
How is he?
How is it?
How is it being a dad?
And what's he like?
I mean, we're still figuring out his personality.
This is a funny thing about kids, they don't tell you.
Like, it's a new person in your life.
And just like anyone else new that comes into your life,
it's like, you got to figure out if you like them.
Like, it takes a little bit of time.
Yeah.
No I really do.
I really do like him.
He's a really sweet boy.
And it's been a lot of fun.
I've been wanting to become a dad for a long time.
And I was waiting for Justin's timeline.
He's 10 years younger than me so I
was like, you let me know when you're ready
but like I'm ready yesterday, so.
Yeah, well, the younger the better I
think because then you're going to start
running after him soon.
So you're singing to him.
Does he enjoy the singing?
And what are you singing to him?
It's a lot of show tunes because that's what I like.
So we're raising him gay until he decides he's straight.
[LAUGHTER]
OK.
Oh, on the way back from the hospital,
we played Britney Spears because that was what
Justin demanded he listen to.
That was his first exposure to music.
But, yeah, it's a lot of singing.
I'm writing a lot of songs for him.
Everything has a song.
[SINGING] I got a poo-poo in my dip-dap and my daddy
fish it out.
You can make a song about anything.
Wow, well, that's a catchy one.
So you're raising him gay until he says he's straight.
But you'll love him just the same if he is straight, right?
Absolutely.
You know [INAUDIBLE] Justin and I were saying,
he's actually going to be, I just
tell he's going to be like such a straight kid.
Who knows?
I mean, he can be whoever he wants.
But, like, I just have a feeling you're going to play football.
I could just tell.
And I going to have to learn how to
do all those things with him.
Right.
Well, if there is a God, yes.
Because it would be wonderful to see
you trying to do that with him.
So you're reading to him also?
Does he have a favorite book?
Well, we like some of the classics.
Like, we have about eight copies of the Hungry,
Hungry Caterpillar.
But one of the new books that I found, that I really love,
is a book called, The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish,
Swish, Swish.
[LAUGHTER]
You joined TikTok Here-- oh--
[SINGING]
Swish, swish, swish.
The hips on the drag queen go swish, swish, swish,
all through the town.
[LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]
Wow.
I didn't know that book but that's a catchy one.
I like that tune better.
And you join TikTok and here's one that you posted recently.
Go.
Go what?
Do it.
Do what?
Make a TikTok.
I don't know what that means.
Do something then.
I don't know--
That's impossible.
Just throw your hands up.
TikTok!
[LAUGHTER]
That's how you do it.
It's just that easy.
Are you on TikTok?
I don't fully understand what it is.
Justin signed me up for it.
And so, he has access to my account.
I don't even have it on my phone.
So he'll just record me and then, like, put it online
and then we'll be in bed that night and he'll be like,
oh you went viral today.
I'm like, what?
[LAUGHTER]
Yes, we're on TikTok.
You have to be.
When you're in show business it's mandatory.
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah.
We cannot not be on TikTok.
The last time you were here was two weeks before the lockdown
and you had just been on stage with Taylor Swift, which
must have been amazing.
Have you kept in touch?
Yeah.
She was so sweet.
She actually sent baby clothes to us.
She couldn't make it to the baby shower, which
we knew she wouldn't come.
But, like, we invited her.
And she sent a big care package.
And it's like the nicest baby clothes I've ever seen.
They're like, cashmere jumpsuits and Beckett is actually
a little too big for them but we're
like determined to get a few more
wears out of them because they're so nice.
So we're just stuffing his little sausage legs into them
and he's like bursting out of them.
But I was like, but this is what Taylor Swift got you
so you're just going to have to learn how to enjoy this.
Well, maybe she'll see this and send some larger sizes.
So are you still-- it's been a year, which I can't believe.
It's been a year since Modern Family ended.
You must miss everybody because that's such a wonderful family
routine that you were in.
Yeah, no, I mean, it was very sad to say goodbye to everyone.
And then shortly after that, we all went to the lockdown.
So we really couldn't even see each other if we wanted to.
But about four months into the lockdown
Ed O'Neill was actually in Hawaii
and he butt-dialed me on FaceTime.
So, he picked up his phone he was sort of surprised to see
my face on his phone.
He was like, Jesse, did you call me?
I was like, no, I think you butt-dialed me.
He's like, I didn't mean to do that.
How are you?
And then we ended up having a 30 minute conversation
and catching up.
But he didn't mean to call me.
Well, it was meant to be, to butt-dial you.
So I'm excited about this I this is real.
I heard there might be a Mitch and Cam spin off.
First of all, that has to happen.
That's a great show.
I mean, I think it would be great.
I don't know anything official.
But, yeah, I think people would love it.
But who knows?
The thing is, after doing something for 11 years
and ending on such a high note, it's like,
do you want to go back and run the risk of maybe not doing
such a good job?
Oh the two of you together, there's
no way that could go wrong.
That's a great idea all day long.
Please do that.
[APPLAUSE]
All right, we're going to take a break.
I just noticed that you're in your kitchen.
So we should talk about your cookbook.
All right, we'll be back and talk
about the cookbook with Jesse.
We'll be back.
Are you in your kitchen?
[LAUGHTER]
Funny you should ask, I sure am.
Ah, look at that.
And you have a cookbook.
Tell everybody about your cookbook, Jesse.
Well, since I'm in my kitchen I may as well.
It is a book I've been working on for about two years
with my very good friend Julie Tanous.
I'm from New Mexico.
She's from Alabama.
So it's a lot of the recipes that we grew up
eating back home.
And it's just been so much fun to work on it.
It's been certainly a labor of love.
I never thought I'd be a published author.
So this has been very exciting for me and we're really proud
of it.
You should be.
There's some good looking dishes in here too.
Really good.
Now, did you test these in quarantine?
And did Justin eat these?
Justin, you know, he got to eat a lot of really
delicious things I made but he also
had to deal with the failures.
There was one dish that I made that was just awful,
and it obviously did not make it into the book,
but Justin took a bite of it, and the adjective he had for it
was, mm, slippery.
Not an adjective you want for food, really.
No.
Before we go, I want to have time to talk about this,
because your documentary that you produced called,
Welcome to Chechnya.
It's on the short-list for two Oscars.
So what a--
Congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
And tell everybody about this because I
think this is really important.
Yeah, it's basically about it's about the gay purge in Chechnya
that a lot of people don't know about.
That the government's seeking out
members of the LGBTQ community and persecuting them
and killing them.
And encouraging their families disown them and turn them in.
And it's obviously a very tragic situation and just
so many people don't know about it.
So it's been very, very exciting to be a part of it.
And I'm just so happy and so proud of the film.
You should be and I'm proud of you
for doing that because that's really important.
Good for you.
And also, you have a cookbook out.
It's called Food Between Friends.
It's available today.
Jesse, I really want that spin-off to happen.
It should happen because y'all are hilarious together.
Congratulations on this.
Congratulations on the baby and the film.
And hope to see you soon in the studio.