“Why would you care if somebody’s happy?”: Will Ferrell slams transphobia following recent documentary ‘Will & Harper’
A new documentary, Will & Harper, was recently added to Netflix, which sees Will Ferrell and his best friend, Harper Steele, travel across America following the latter coming out as transgender.
Steele, a former head writer for Saturday Night Live, announced that she was transgender several years ago, telling Ferrell in 2022 via email. In the documentary, directed by Josh Greenbaum, the pair hit the road and get up to some fun activities while also discussing Steele’s experience as a trans woman.
It’s an eye-opening and essential documentary which emphasises the importance of friendship and support. Ferrell has supported Steele though her transition, and with Will & Harper, the pair hope to educate more people on the experiences that transgender people face.
In a recent interview with The Independent, Ferrell opened up about transphobia, questioning how cisgender people could possibly be threatened by someone like Steele, who is simply happier now.
“There is hatred out there. 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.”
He continued, “It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally… her. 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?”
Ferrell then made a very poignant comment, “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.”
With Will & Harper, the actor and writer advocate for trans rights, emphasising the importance of being allowed to simply exist in the way that you feel most comfortable. At times, it is certainly a hard watch – but one that is vital viewing. The hope is that the documentary humanises a discussion that is often politicised.
In an interview with Far Out, Greenbaum explained, “It’s hard hating up close. And I think part of what this film can do is, you know, remind people that we should be seeing each other a lot more as human beings. We’ve sort of lost that nature of being up close and having the civility of treating each other as human beings, as simple as that sounds.”
You can read the full in-depth interview by clicking here.
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