Nathan Lane made hepatitis joke to Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s 5-year-old son

jesse tyler ferguson no doubt Nathan Lane Telling an adult joke to his 5-year-old son, Beckett.

Ferguson, 50, said he recently invited Ryan, 69, and Pamela Adlon In his latest episode “I’ll take care of dinner” podcast. Before the meal, he recalled Ryan’s famous Disney characters, lion king’s Timon serves as a point of contact for Beckett and her 3-year-old son, Sullivan, helping identify incoming guests. (Ferguson shares his two sons with his husband Justin Mikita.)

“(Ryan) was in town shooting some stuff and we’d been wanting to meet up for dinner, which was easier. I was like, ‘You just want me to cook for you? I’ll cook for you.’ And then he came over,” modern family Star explained. “I was like, ‘Of course you know Nathan. You’ve heard him, you know his voice comes from (Timon) lion king.’ So I played “Hakuna Matata,” and on my way to school, they were singing “Hakuna Matata.” I was like, ‘This is Nathan coming to dinner!’ ‘”

He continued, “Nathan and Pam came over that night, and Nathan came in and my son said, ‘I know who you are!'” He called him “Yasen.” “Asen, Asen, Asen, I know who you are!” You are from “Hakuna Matata”, you are from The Lion King!‘”

While Ferguson’s kids are clearly excited, Only murders in the building The star is allegedly not keen on receiving recognition for one of his past roles. “Nathan was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was like, like, he got stopped by a fan on the street,” Ferguson recalled with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Nathan, he’s 5 years old.’ That’s it, let it rest! ‘”

Ryan’s response didn’t stop Ferguson’s eldest son, though, and Beckett returned shortly afterwards with something hidden behind his back. The “Birdcage” star didn’t hesitate when he asked Ryan to guess what he had in his hand.

“He said, ‘Ason, Ason, Ason, guess what I got?'” Ferguson recalled. “Nathan said, ‘Hepatitis.'”

Although the joke was more suitable for adults, Ferguson said he wasn’t bothered by Lane’s character.

“I love him so much for being who he is,” Ferguson admitted, adding that Lane said children aren’t his favorite demographic. “He said, ‘I don’t mind the kids, but I don’t have a relationship with them either. I get a chance to hear a joke, and that’s what I’m going to give.'”

Lane’s status as Disney royalty has made him a legend for younger generations. this Emmy Award Winner Starring Played Timon, the lovable jungle meerkat in all three original films lion king Movies, one half of comedy relief duo Ernie Sabella Nathan Lane made a hepatitis joke to the 5-year-old son of Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Pumba the warthog.

Although each film has a lot of children’s humor lion king — including the sound of Pemba’s fart, which Sabella made while trying to make Lane laugh during an early-morning recording session — has an adult-leaning joke in the film thanks to Lane’s ad-libbing.

Appearing on an April 2025 episode of SiriusXM Conan O’Brien needs a friend In the show, Lane admitted that the scene where Timon puts on a dress and distracts a pack of hyenas came from a scene where he was “fooling around” in the studio.

“I don’t even remember half of it, but, apparently I said, ‘What do you want me to do, wear drag and dance hula?’ for some reason,” Lane recalled of the now-famous line. “It must have been a long day. And then they turned it into a song.”

Lane came out as gay in 1999, and nearly expanded his children’s film resume with another 1996 classic space jam. However, man and doll The actor claimed in a May 2025 interview vanity fair He was not cast in the role due to homophobia.

“I was told (gay people did) influence a movie that I didn’t really care about: space jam. I’m looking forward to that guy’s role seinfeld Lane said, referring to role michael jordan’s public relations officer Finally went Wayne Knight. “I was set to play the role. Apparently, the director saw me hosting the Tony Awards and thought it showed I was too gay to play the role. So thank God I didn’t have to do that Space Jam.“