Milo Ventimiglia was on The Tonight Show this week to promote This is Us, which is so popular it just got renewed for three more seasons! He was wearing a Morrissey t-shirt as Morrissey was the musical guest that night. Milo said he doesn’t often get star struck but that The Smiths meant so much to him as a teen and that he was freaking out at the thought of meeting Morrissey. You can see that below and here’s what he said.
I heard you were super excited about [Morrissey being on our show]
I’m a little nervous. I’ve been listening to Morrissey and The Smiths since I was 13. Huge Smiths fan, huge Morrissey fan. I feel like he raised me a little bit with his music. My friends we would listen to the Smiths and Morrissey and we would quote them. ‘I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside.’ I’m kind of shaking right now.Do you want to say hi to him?
Not yet. I’m cool being a fan. I’m really nervous.[When I heard Morrissey is going to be on the show] I just froze. This has put me off my game a little bit.
When I was a kid I wore my hair like Morrissey I dressed like Morrissey he kind of consumed my life.
[From The Tonight Show]
After that Milo said he was senior class president in Almadena High School. He must not have been a total goth outsider, you know? He also said he likes to sit in the front seat when he takes an Uber as it feels weird to him to sit in the back.
You can tell that Milo hasn’t kept up with Morrissey in the past decade or he would be considerably less excited to meet him. The guy is a known curmudgeon with some very problematic views. (Update: thanks to ccsays for pointing out that Morrissey was wearing a pin from a far right political party on the show. Canceled.)
This was cute though, and Milo is one of us. He’s a little bit younger than me but I feel like I know him now. I liked the Smiths as teen but I was never a huge fan. I would get this way about Bernard Sumner for sure (New Order), Tori Amos, Robert Smith (The Cure), Richard Butler (The Psychedelic Furs), Bjork and Siouxsie Sioux definitely! Siouxsie Sioux would surely have me acting like this. When you grow up listening to an artist’s albums on repeat, devouring all their interviews, memorizing their lyrics and wearing t-shirts with their face on them, it makes you a lifelong fan. It’s like you go back to that time they helped you navigate some difficult feelings and you’re forever grateful.
Also I know a lot of people love How Soon is Now and that’s a great song but Suedehead was my teenage song from The Smiths, I loved the James Dean-themed video, and I will absolutely have that stuck in my head all day. Morrissey was so beautiful back then and that hair! (Other teenage favorites: Age of Consent by New Order, Cities in Dust by Siouxsie and The Banshees, and No New Tale to Tell by Love and Rockets.)
I checked Milo’s Instagram and the accounts for The Tonight Show. There’s no photo or mention of Milo meeting Morrissey so if it happened he probably wasn’t game for a photo. That’s what you would expect from Morrissey. You can see his performance of “California Sun” here.
Another update and again I’m sorry for missing this detail in the original story!
*Blasts Bona Drag* Wow this dum dum https://t.co/ILvVc0RNVX
— Ashley Reese (@offbeatorbit) May 15, 2019
.@MiloVentimiglia is star-struck by Morrissey (@OfficialMoz)! #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/0D0CA2O6Kz
— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) May 14, 2019
Here’s that part of the interview. The second part, where he talks about This is Us, is here. I’m a fan now!
photos credit: WENN
Doesn’t Morrisey support the BNP now? That’s more than problematic. Sometimes I think people are cancelled too flippantly but this guy should definitely be cancelled.
If they did meet Morrissey probably took no time at all to destroy those glorious childhood memories.
I just started watching This is Us and I now think Milo is so hot! And he is such an excellent actor. Yum
He’s my pocket-sized crush. I find his crooked mouth adorable.
I wouldn’t be able to keep my cool around Tracy Chapman.
OMG. Same. I was OBSESSED as a kid.
I loved The Smiths and Morrisey’s tapes were a staple on my yellow waterproof Walkman on many a train ride and jog. I even saw him once in Chicago walking along the lakefront the day after I saw him in concert and considered approaching him but didn’t. But I have been over him for a while now.
But man the music from the 80s really takes me back, to mostly happy times. I have a mix tape that a friend made back then that I still treasure. It includes early REM, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Clash, Berlin, Ultravox, Tears for Fears, The Ramones, David Bowie and more. I cannot overstate how much that era of music means to me.
The 80s were the best for alt music! I was never a Smith’s fan but I burned up my REM, X, and Ramones tapes. Those Sony Walkmans were indestructible.
Yes yes yes! Alternative was the only music I listened to mid to late 80s. From Smith’s to Yaz to Ministry to Erasure and New Order. The P Furs, Blancmange, Pet Shop, Cabaret Voltaire, Cult, Inxs, Bauhaus, Nitzer, Heaven 17, Bronski Beat, Alphaville, Book of Love, Front 242, Depeche, ok ok I have to stop lol. So many!
Book of Love!! They just turned up on my Spotify this morning!! And I remember Ministry before they turned scary and hardcore – I definitely had “With Sympathy” on cassette!!! Have you heard Midge Ure lately? He sounds exactly the same.
Slightly off topic, but I still have a “walkman” in a closet, at home. I should see if it still works. lol
I have my Aiwa walkman, c1986 and it still works!!
I mean….Morrissey was wearing a pin badge from a far right Islamophobic political group when he was on that show. He’s vile.
I didn’t see that and will update with that.
I saw that and started reading their platform just to see…. yes, they are totally anti Muslim, but their animal rights platform is on brand for Morrissey.
But that’s the issue with Morrissey: he can’t manage to show as much respect and empathy to living, breathing humans as he does for animals. Millions are displaced, starving, are used as slaves and he’s actually ok with that. He’s terrible but damn were The Smiths good!
Love the music of The Smith’s and Morrissey…. not the man himself. It’s actually some of my favorite music along with Joy Division. Since you like Age Of Consent you should look for the live Joy Division version. It was one of their last songs and never made it but New Order did an amazing job with it even without Ian Curtis.
Morrissey?
Blech.
I sometimes wonder why no one seems to remember that Milo is actually very sketchy and a douchebag.. it tends to always go out of people’s minds, more so than with other sketchy celebs, it’s weird
I completely missed where he was sketchy. Can someone educate me? I am genuinely curious.
@LS I’m with you. I sometimes find it hard to watch him in This is Us for that reason.
I only remember Milo from that Fergie video, and have always thought he was super hot. And I don’t get fan-girlie often. I’m also seeing Psychedelic Furs this summer – have seen them live a few times the past few years and they are unbelievably excellent. I was really surprised – it HAS been *cough* 30+ years…. I graduated h.s. in 87 so Smiths, Cure, New Order, etc were such a big part of my life.
The Smiths’ music quite figuratively kept me alive during my volatile teenage years, but Morrissey himself is long since cancelled.
He is an awful jackass. I can barely even listen to the Smiths anymore and I NEVER thought I would say that.
I wasn’t hugest fan but I love different types of music & so when I recently got free tickets to Morrissey by music biz friends was conflicted yet curious. His views are just kinda crazy… but I went because I was curious and the power and range in his voice was just amazing for his age! Great concert! Then I bored the friends who are longtime stans, complaining about his politics. It’s such a drag when your nostalgia favs turn problematic!
Suedehead is not the Smiths, it was from Morrissey’s first solo album.
And yea he’s a total wanker now, thank god Johnny Marr is still cool.
Yes, I stopped supporting Morrissey or buying his albums long ago. It’s tough because I will always be a Smiths fan and I have loved a lot of solo Moz. He’s devolved so much but a lot of the signs were there years ago; he’s comfortable being massively blatant about it now.
I saw Johnny Marr live last year and it was a teenage dream come true (I’m 48 now, love seeing all your 80s faves, can only nod my head in blissful agreement!) He is sublime to say the least.
My first thought is, wow, you must have been a depressed teen! I love both the Smiths and solo Morrissey (before hearing about his alt right views that is!) but a lot of the songs really depress me! When I’m in a funk, ‘ I Have Forgiven Jesus’ is always good for a cry.
It’s actually El Modena High School, not Almadena. He’s from my town.