When Rumors Swirled About Debra Messing And Megan Mullally, Producers Addressed The Alleged Rift

Should Ryan Murphy need inspiration for his next series of Feud, then he could do worse than looking toward one of NBC’s best-loved sitcoms: Will & Grace. For two of its stars – Megan Mullally and Debra Messing – were reportedly at loggerheads toward the end of its second wind. But was there any truth to the rumors? Well, in 2020 the show’s producers appeared to settle the issue once and for all.

If you’ve somehow managed to avoid the Emmy Award-winning comedy during its two separate runs, then Messing plays titular character Grace Adler. Viewed as the most neurotic of the four-strong gang, the interior designer ends up getting married to and divorced from Harry Connick Jr.’s Leo Markus. But her strongest relationship is undoubtedly with her gay BFF and housemate Will Truman – played by Eric McCormack.

Of course, Grace also has two other long-running connections in the hit sitcom. There’s the super-flamboyant Jack McFarland, who – thanks to Sean Hayes’ charismatic performance – often ends up stealing the show. And then there’s Megan Mullally’s equally unforgettable Karen Walker – a woman renowned for her squeaky voice and unashamed lack of tact.

Karen also serves as assistant to Grace, although it’s fair to say that her talents aren’t exactly appreciated. She was famously once described by her boss as a “spoiled, shrill, gold-digging socialite who would sooner chew off her own foot than do an honest day’s work.” And if rumors are to be believed, such insults may also have been thrown around once the cameras stopped rolling, too.

So how exactly did these claims start? Well, Mullally and Messing appeared to have got on rather swimmingly during Will & Grace’s initial eight-season run from 1998 to 2006. It was only after the show was fully revived in 2017 that damaging reports about the pair’s relationship began to surface.