Will Ferrell: ‘If the Trans Community Is a Threat to You, Then It Stems From Not Being Confident or Safe With Yourself’

Will Ferrell spoke to The Independent as part of his press tour for the Netflix documentary “Will & Harper” and was asked to share his opinion on why transphobia exists. He answered: “I think we fear what we don’t know.”

“Will & Harper” centers on the friendship between Ferrell and Harper Steele. The two met in the 1990s during their careers at “Saturday Night Live.” Steele came out as transgender 30 years into their friendship. The documentary, which was bought by Netflix after its premiere at Sundance earlier this year, finds the two comedians on a road trip across America as they rediscover their friendship following Steele’s transition.

“There is hatred out there,” Ferrell told The Independent. “It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations. … But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male. I don’t know why Harper is threatening to me.” 

“It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally… her,” he added. “She’s finally who she was always meant to be. Whether or not you can ultimately wrap your head around that, why would you care if somebody’s happy? Why is that threatening to you? If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it stems from not being confident or safe with yourself.”

Ferrell told Variety at Sundance ahead of the documentary’s premiere that Steele came out as transgender in an email she sent to a handful of friends. “All of us were extremely supportive and expressed love,” he said. “But that sort of opened the questions like, how can we help you? What do you need us to do?”
Ferrell said he had “zero knowledge” about the trans community before Harper came out to him.

“I had met trans people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life,” Ferrell said. “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.”

“Will & Harper” streams Sept. 27 on Netflix.