Kelsey Grammer’s Daughter Reveals the ‘Meanest Thing’ He Said After Their 12-Year Estrangement

Greer Grammer is opening up about her complicated history with her father, Kelsey Grammer.

The 33-year-old Awkward alum revealed during a recent appearance on the Pretty Basic Podcast that after reconnecting with her father at age 16 following a 12-year estrangement, he said the “meanest thing” to her.

“I guess my dad did ask my mom [stylist Barrie Buckner] — he told me this later — but he was like, ‘I told your mom… I said it might be better for you to not have my last name. It would be easier for you growing up,’” Greer said.

She added, “I think I was like 19 when he told me that and I started sobbing, because to me that was like the meanest thing you could ever say to somebody, like… ‘I knew I wasn’t gonna be in your life, so I told my mom it would probably be easier for you to not have my last name.’”

Now, Greer admits that her dad was “not wrong” in saying that, and that his assessment was “fair.”

Greer also clarified on the podcast the misconception that she had never met her father before she was 16, revealing that she had memories of being with the Frasier star until he “left” upon splitting with Buckner when Greer was 4.

They ultimately reconnected when she was doing community service as Miss Teen Malibu, and Kelsey was living nearby with his now-ex-wife Camille Grammer, with whom he shares children Mason, 24, and Jude, 21. (The Emmy Award-winner is also father to daughter Spencer, 42, with ex-wife Doreen Alderman and children Faith, 12, Gabriel, 10, James, 8, and newborn Christopher with wife Kayte Walsh.)

“He came up to me and said, ‘Are you Greer?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am,’” Greer remembered. “Then he went, ‘I’m —.” And I was like, ‘I know who you are. Duh.’”

The father-daughter duo would meet up for lunch a week later, where they ultimately “started” their relationship, which Greer describes now as “good.”

“It took a couple of days to call him, because my mom was like, ‘Give them some time.’ I was ready to call him that day, like, ‘Let’s do this thing. I got a dad now, woohoo!’” Greer shared. “She was kind of like, ‘Take some time to think about it over the weekend. Let them process it as a family and then call.’”