Saturday Night Live alum Will Ferrell dressed in drag with a wig, fake breasts, and a dress to play Attorney Janet Reno in several comedy sketches in seasons 22 and 23. During an appearance on The New York Times podcast The Interview, Ferrell revisited his drag days and discussed a range of topics with Harper Steele, from their friendship to their upcoming Netflix documentary Will & Harper. The documentary will premiere on the streaming platform on September 27, 2024.
When talking about doing drag comedy, Will said,
"That's something I wouldn't choose to do now."
Harper Steele, who wrote for SNL from 1995 to 2008, recently came out as a trans woman and noted that she wouldn't write it again, saying,
"No, I wouldn't write it again and I don't think it's right. I have always thought punching down was wrong. What I have been discovering, like most of us, is that we were punching down sometimes when we didn't think we were.
Harper also noted that people would react differently if drag comedy had been acted in today's generation, saying,
I understand the laugh is a drag laugh. It's, 'Hey, look at this guy in a dress, and that's funny.' It's absolutely not funny. It's absoutely a way that we should be able to live in the world."
"So I'm going to blame the writers," says Will Ferrell about SNL's sketch comedy plays
While discussing his U.S. Attorney Janet Reno sketches, Will Ferrell mentioned that sketch comedy actors didn't always have complete control over the sketch lineup.
Will hinted that he'd have to go back and look at some shows, but he was pretty sure there'd be quite a few where people would question the choices. He noted that the cast was "kind of given this assignment" and shifted the blame to the writers, saying,
“I mean, in a way, the cast — you’re kind of given this assignment. So I’m going to blame the writers.”
While speaking to The Washington Post in November 2016, Janet Reno said she had no problem with Will Ferrell playing her in SNL. Reno said,
"I think people were having fun. I thought it was just kind of a spoof of this 6-foot-1-big old girl. I can't figure out why anybody's that interested in me."
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Will Ferrell's upcoming documentary film, Will & Harper with Harper Steele, will follow the two friends on a 17-day road trip across the United States. The two have been friends since they first began working together on Saturday Night Live, and while speaking to Netflix in an article published on September 5, Steele said, "We hit it off pretty quickly."
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