Ed O'Neill denies saying Jane Lynch didn't deserve her Emmy

In a statement released exclusively to EW, Modern Family star Ed O’Neill denies that he said that Glee actress Jane Lynch did not deserve the Emmy for her role as Sue Sylvester. O’Neill was quoted in a TV Guide Canada story as saying, “I love Jane, honestly I do. I’m dying to star in one of Christopher Guest’s movies alongside her, but I don’t think she should have gotten the Emmy for that part. [Sue Sylvester] is just a one-note character.” He then is quoted singing the praises of his onscreen wife, played by Sofia Vergara.

O’Neill’s statement reads in full: “Last week I spoke to a group of journalists and one quoted me supposedly saying of Jane Lynch, ‘I don’t think she should have gotten the Emmy for that part.’ I never said those words and transcripts of the press conference attest to that fact. Of course I root for my dear friends Sofia Vergara and Julie Bowen (and all of my colleagues on our show) at Emmy time, but I absolutely never said, nor do I believe that Jane — whom I think is an enormous talent — was undeserving of the award. I reached out to her yesterday to ensure she knew I’d been misquoted but I wanted to clear this up publicly as well.” (A rep for Lynch told E! Online the actress had “let [the issue] go.”) TV Guide Canada did not respond to a request for comment at the time of this posting.



ETA: His real quote:

"I’m one of Jane Lynch’s biggest fans. I love Jane Lynch. She is a genius. But at the same time I said ‘Sofia could win’ because … and I’ve only seen Glee a couple of … I’ve only seen Glee once. But I thought Jane’s role is rather one-dimensional. It’s kind of strident. It’s always kind of the same. I’ve seen her be much better. So I thought ‘Sofia’s funnier,’ and I think she is in these two comparative roles. Anyway, Jane won. But I was hoping that Sofia would."


Sources: EW | TV Guide CA