Loveable until the end. Leslie Jordan sent former costar Max Greenfield a heartwarming and hilarious text message just days before his death — after he was denied entry to the New Girl alum’s book signing.
“He tried to get in, but the event was sold out and they didn’t let him in,” Greenfield, 43, told E! News in an interview published on Thursday, October 27. “And he texted me and he was like, ‘I tried to get in. I saw that you was so famous they wouldn’t let me in. And they turned my little ass away.'”
The New York native noted that while the Call Me Kat actor told him “Congratulations,” he then jokingly added that he couldn’t stay because he had “important things” to get done.
“They won’t let me near you, superstar. That’s what you are. Congratulations. I got to run or I would stalk you,” Greenfield recalled Jordan writing in the sweet message.
The Ugly Betty alum and Sordid Lives star first worked together on Will & Grace in 2017 and remained close friends until Jordan’s death on October 24.
“In these last few years that he had, the world really got to see that and accept it and experience it and he got to experience it and really embrace all of that love,” the Neighborhood actor told E! on Thursday. “And boy, oh, boy, did he take advantage of it. It was so wonderful to be on the sidelines of that.”
While the American Horror Story alum was a working Hollywood actor for decades, he gained notoriety in recent years via funny videos he would post via TikTok during COVID-19 — something Greenfield is thankful the world got to experience.
“I was looking at him the other day and I was so happy that he had posted as much as he did,” the Promising Young Women star recalled. “Because I was like, ‘Oh, I could watch these forever.'”
Greenfield previously opened up about the loss of his friend via social media on Tuesday. “What a gift it was to know Leslie Jordan. He was a famous star. And when the world finally embraced him as such everything finally made sense. To him. He was so grateful for it all. We loved you very much Leslie ❤️,” he wrote via Instagram.
Us Weekly confirmed on Monday that Jordan died at age 67 after a car crash in Los Angeles. “The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,” his rep told Us in a statement at the time. “Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times.”
The Tennessee native’s cause of death was not immediately released, but TMZ reported that the Emmy winner possibly “suffered some sort of medical emergency” before crashing his vehicle into the side of a building.
Following his passing, tributes poured in from his friends and colleagues. Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, and Will & Grace costars Megan Mullally, Eric McCormack and Sean Hayes were just a few of the celebrities to honor Jordan’s legacy.
“My heart is breaking,” Mullally, 63, began in a lengthy Instagram post shared on Monday. “I really can’t believe it. Leslie Jordan was, hands down, one of the greats. People use that expression a lot, and I’m not sure it’s always applicable. There aren’t that many people who are truly great at anything. But Leslie was flawlessly funny, a virtuoso of comedy. His timing, his delivery, all apparently effortless. You can’t get any better than that.”
For her part, Parton, 76, shared that she felt like she lost a member of her own family. “Leslie and I had a special bond,” the 9 to 5 star wrote in a statement shared via Instagram on Monday. “He will be missed by everyone who knew him personally and by everyone who was entertained by him. Rest in peace lil’ brother.”
