Did ‘Will & Grace’ Stars Debra Messing and Megan Mullally Really Feud?

WILL & GRACE, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally, (Season 8), 1998-2006 — NBC/Everett Collection

What To Know

Rumors of a feud between Will & Grace stars Debra Messing and Megan Mullally began in 2019 when fans noticed they unfollowed each other on Instagram and were rarely seen together.
Reports of Mullally’s brief absence from the show and comments from creator Max Mutchnick about cast “squabbles” fueled speculation, despite costars downplaying any serious conflict.
No major falling-out has ever been publicly confirmed, and both Messing and Mullally have remained quiet about the true nature of their relationship during the show’s final season.

Fans of Will & Grace were thrilled when the show returned to NBC in 2017, along with the show’s core characters, played by Debra Messing, Megan Mullally, Eric McCormack, and Sean Hayes. However, in 2019, eagle-eyed fans realized Messing and Mullally had quietly unfollowed each other on Instagram and noticed that they were rarely photographed together with the rest of the cast. This ignited rumors of a feud between the two actors. But today, some of their costars are denying that there was ever an issue.

That same year, reports surfaced that Mullally had taken a brief leave of absence during the show’s final season, missing two episodes entirely. She also unfollowed her co-star Hayes on Instagram. However, McCormack, who played Will, tried to downplay the rumors, and told Us Weekly that “people worried … entirely too much” about Instagram-gate. He added, “The four of us get along like a house on fire, we always have.” Still, creator Max Mutchnick later admitted to Entertainment Weekly that the show’s final year “was not an easy one,” and acknowledged there had been “squabbles” between cast members. He added that “the permanent legacy of the show is much more important to us than any temporary squabble that would take place on the stage.”

WILL & GRACE, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally, 'Von Trapped', (Season 8, aired January 5, 2006), 1998-2006

Chris Haston/NBC/Everett Collection

Whether or not those comments were about Messing and Mullally, the timing matched the period when tensions were said to be running high. By the time the show wrapped in 2020, Mullally’s two-episode absence and the lingering sense of distance between her and Messing had cemented the idea that something had gone wrong.

Despite the speculation, no one involved has publicly confirmed a major falling-out. Mullally and Hayes once again follow each other on social media. McCormack and Hayes have remained diplomatic, while Mullally and Messing have kept pretty quiet about what really happened. I guess we will never know for sure.