If you’ve seen the television show, Modern Family, you probably would recognize actor Ed O’Neill. He currently plays Jay Pritchett on the ABC smash and before that played the iconic Al Bundy from Married with Children. Needless to say, if you’re of fan of either show, you’d definitely recognize the actor if you saw him.

You wouldn’t be alone, either. Plenty of people approach O’Neill in public, often asking for autographs or photos, and the TV star is famously kind to fans who want to snap a selfie.

So when O’Neill was recently sitting in LAX, waiting for a flight to Hawaii, it wasn’t unusual that a lovely woman came up to him and asked for a picture. He politely obliged, allowed the lady to sit on the arm of his chair, and took a quick picture with her.

O’Neill told Ellen that the woman, “couldn’t have been sweeter,” and that after they snapped the photo he told her to have a nice flight before boarding his own. He most likely didn’t think anything of it as he settled in for his trip.

The next day, however, he got a text from his manager. It was the photo of him and the blonde woman, which had been posted to Twitter and quickly got over 53,000 likes.

Confused, O’Neill asked his manager why the photo had blown up the way it did and he was quickly informed that it had to do with the fan who had asked for his photo. She wasn’t just any old fan strolling through LAX — she was Britney Spears!

On Ellen’s show several weeks later, the hilarious host couldn’t get over the fact that her guest had NO IDEA he was sitting next to one of the most famous and successful stars of the music industry. He responds that his cluelessness is pretty clear just based on his expression.

“I mean, look at the look on my face. Do I look like I know that I’m sitting with Britney Spears?!” O’Neill asked Ellen, gestured to the slightly distant look on his face.

After being berated by his daughter Sophia, O’Neill called up Britney Spears’ manager and explained the story. He apologized to the Princess of Pop for being so oblivious, and the entire thing blew over as a hilarious story!

Good thing Ed O’Neill is just an all-around nice guy or this mishap could have been seriously embarrassing. What do you think of this funny story about this fantastic actor? Make sure to share your thoughts!