Will Ferrell recently opened up about having had no knowledge about the trans community before his best friend of 30 years came out as a transgender woman in 2022.
Ferrell met his bestie Harper Steele during their days on ‘Saturday Night Live’, where the latter wrote for from 1995 to 2008. In an interview with Variety, the 56-year-old American actor and comedian revealed how Steele came out to him, sharing:
“It was three summers ago in which Harper emailed a lot of her close friends with the headline: ‘Here’s a Weird One’. She went on to explain she was going to transition and we were all of course excited to hear the news and surprised to hear the news.”
“All of us were extremely supportive and expressed love…but that sort of opened the questions like, ‘how can we help you?’ ‘What do you need us to do?,'” Ferrell continued.
He also admitted to having had “zero knowledge” about the trans community prior to Steele coming out to him.
“I had met trans people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life. So this was all new territory for me, which is why I think this film is so exciting for us to kind of put out there in the world. It’s a chance all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions and also just to listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey,” the ‘Get Hard’ actor further expressed.
Meanwhile, Steele added:
“It tells the story of a cis friend of a trans person who has to transition himself.”
The two best friends were referring to their new documentary ‘Will & Harper’, which is set for a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film’s official synopsis reads:
“When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.”
Moreover, ‘Will & Harper’ has yet to announce a released date, as it is seeking distribution out of Sundance Film Festival as of this writing.
Also, you can watch Ferrell and Steele’s interview here:
Will Ferrell said he had “zero knowledge” about the trans community before his best friend Harper Steele came out to him. "It’s a chance for all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions and also just to listen and be there as a friend." https://t.co/BMs1p67MmW pic.twitter.com/cAtKPK3rhB
— Variety (@Variety) January 22, 2024
Sources: variety.com, thepinknews.com
