Jeffrey Dean Morgan debuted as Negan in The Walking Dead franchise all the way back in 2016, and his character proceeded to kill off some of the most beloved individuals in the original series. In a recent interview, Morgan admitted that he gets “hate” for Negan’s actions even now.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan opens up on getting hate for Negan on The Walking Dead
Morgan made an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast and discussed his expansive career, including his roles in Supernatural and Watchmen. Almost inevitably, The Walking Dead franchise and Negan come up. When Horowitz noted that he hoped fans knew the difference between Morgan and Negan, the Sterling Point actor responded, “I still get hate.”
Morgan continued, “Oh, I get people all the time that are just furious with the fact that I killed Glenn. He was so loved, and I never understood how they didn’t know it was going to happen.” The Neighborhood Watch actor then pointed out that Glenn’s (Steven Yeun) death also takes place in the comics. Morgan elaborated that the reaction of the fans “shocked” him, adding, “It [Glenn’s death] just sucked the air right out of them… [they] just hated Negan and Jeffrey Dean with fervor.”
When Horowitz asked for the “most extreme” examples of those interactions, Morgan recalled an incident in Georgia that also involved an elderly woman of around 80 years of age and Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl Dixon in the franchise. “Norman and I would ride around motorcycles a lot and we’d go to various places and I remember we had stopped at this coffee place and we got a coffee,” Morgan explained.
It is then that an elderly woman and her granddaughter approached them. Although the latter’s interaction with Reedus was cordial, the former “smacked” Morgan with her purse after she saw him. She also hurled f-bombs at him. This prompted Reedus to suggest that they should leave immediately.
According to Morgan, he would still get extreme reactions from fans if he were to walk down the streets of New York today. He said that these reactions are “hilarious” and “part of the deal.”
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on ComingSoon.
