Leslie Jordan’s Walk of Stars ceremony revealed a touching goodbye recorded before his death

When friends, family and fans gathered in Palm Springs to honor the late actor Leslie Jordan’s life a year after his death, the one person they didn’t expect to hear from was… Leslie Jordan.

But at an induction ceremony for the Walk of Stars, which included celebrities like Del Shores and Cheyenne Jackson along with Jordan’s sister, Cricket, it was the actor’s pre-recorded goodbye that moved the crowd.

Related: Cheyenne Jackson’s impression of Leslie Jordan is spot-on

Jennifer Hudson was left stunned by the eerie similarity.

Fans gathered in 104-degree heat to honor the beloved comedian and actor to place his star exactly where it would have pleased him most. In direct sight of a giant statue of Marilyn Monroe, Del Shore joked that “it’s fitting that his star will forever be looking at Marilyn’s ass.”

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“Somehow I think he had something to do with that.”

Shores also told a story about his own star on the walk, saying Jordan was “a little bitter” as the crowd laughed. He recounted one of Jordan’s many Instagram videos recorded at Shores’ star.

“He said, ‘You know my dear friend Del Shores wrote a movie called Sordid Lives and I had a big part in it. I played a Tammy Wynette-obsessed drag queen who gets put in a mental hospital and I got a lot of attention. But anyhow, I’m just wondering, why does he have a star and I don’t?'” Shores recounted.

“And then he poured tea on my star and said, ‘Oops,’ and then he walked right to the camera and said, ‘Anybody got a jackhammer?'”

Shores had the honor of playing the recording of Jordan addressing the public before his death.

In his legendary drawl, Jordan’s voice rang out over the quiet crowd.

“I realize how hard goodbyes can be,” Jordan said in the recording. “So for all my dear friends, this is not goodbye forever, it’s only goodbye for now. Thank you for helping me live a joyful life.”