Will Ferrell Expresses Regret Over Dressing Up As A Woman On SNL

The SNL years hold a “fair amount” of cringe-worthy memories for Will Ferrell, though the actor tried cheekily to blame most of them on the show’s writing staff.

Ferrell joked that the cast members were simply “given this assignment” and that he chooses to “blame the writers.” One of those writers, Harper Steele, was also on the podcast and playfully backed up her longtime friend. “He’s not culpable at all,” Steele joked. 

Harper Steele came out as transgender in 2022, a journey that she invited Will Ferrell, her old SNL colleague, to share with her. Ferrell came into the situation with what he confessed was “zero knowledge” about the trans community. “I had met trans people,” admitted Ferrell, but he didn’t have anyone close to him in his life who had transitioned. 

That all changed when he received an email from Harper detailing her plan to transition. Will Ferrell immediately offered to help his friend with anything she needed during her transition, which led to the creation of the documentary Will & Harper, streaming on Netflix starting September 27. Doing press for the film has caused the pair to do a lot of soul-searching involving past projects.

“I wrote Monica Lewinsky stuff I wasn’t proud of,” Steele said, proving there was a kernel of truth in Will Ferrells’ earlier statement about his SNL tenure. Additionally, Harper confessed to writing some “Britney Spears stuff” and some “Clinton things” that she wasn’t proud of looking back. “I’m just moving on,” the writer admitted, adding that it was all she could do.

Both Will Ferrell and Harper Steele now look back on their SNL days with a more critical eye, though Steele is slightly conflicted about her sketchwriting past.

Steele said that thinking about sketches like the Janet Reno one in 2024 “kind of bums me out.” On the one hand, she understands why viewers would find the sketch funny.

“Hey, look at this guy in a dress, that’s funny.” Steele said before adding, “It’s absolutely not funny. It’s absolutely a way that we should be able to live in the world.”

However, when it comes to actors like Will Ferrell in those kinds of SNL sketches, Harper admits that she likes “A sense of play.”

The Will & Harper star refers to herself as “purple-haired woke” but wonders if sometimes political correctness takes some of the fun out of comedy. 

Steele claimed that removing “some of the range” that comedy performers can access on shows like SNL also removes  “the joy of playing” for people like Will Ferrell.

As society continues to become more accepting of different gender identities and the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, more performers will be forced to reckon with past roles that don’t fly in a more tolerant world.

Hopefully, most will react as Will Ferrell did regarding his problematic SNL sketches—with humility, grace, and the appropriate amount of remorse.

Source: The New York Times