Ed O’Neill Had No Idea Who Britney Spears Was Before Snapping Photo With Her

Is it a case of mistaken identity if you never knew who the person was in the first place? Modern Family star Ed O’Neill was on Ellen on Monday, and he shared a story about meeting Britney Spears. But he admitted to host Ellen DeGeneres that he had no idea who the pop star was at the time.

“Well, I was at LAX. I was flying alone to Hawaii. And I was waiting for my flight to board,” O’Neill said. “And I saw a woman approaching.” That woman, of course, was none other than Spears, who is a big fan of O’Neill’s show. “She came up and said, ‘Oh, Mr. O’Neill, I love Modern Family, and you’re my favorite on the show,’” he recounted. “So she sat there, and we took [a picture]. And I said, ‘Have a nice trip. I’m going,’ and I left.”

Spears posted the picture to social media, and it wasn’t until O’Neill’s manager contacted him that he learned who had asked him for the photo. “So the next day, my manager texts me and says, ‘What is this?’ 53,000 likes. It’s Britney Spears,” said O’Neill. “I didn’t know it was her.” He would later apologize for his lack of enthusiasm, and he certainly won’t be making that mistake again.

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