Will Ferrell Is Being Praised For His Seriously Articulate Explanation As To Why There Is So Much Anti-Trans Rhetoric

Will and Harper first met when they worked together on Saturday Night Live back in 1995, Will as a performer and Harper as a writer, and the two have been best friends ever since. 

In 2022, Harper came out as trans and started her transition at the age of 61. During an appearance at Variety Studios earlier this year, Will recalled: “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,” he added. “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?’”

“Which is why I think [Will & Harper] is so exciting for us to kind of put out there in the world,” Will went on to say. “Because I think it’s a chance for all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions — I know for me it was a chance to ask questions. And also, just to listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”

“There is hatred out there,” he added. “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,” Will continued, before poignantly adding: “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?” he asked. “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.”

Reposting Will’s comments to X, one viral tweet reads: “it’s so important that someone like him is saying something like this & in a world where so many artists i’ve long admired have left me disappointed with the way they talk about our community it’s truly the best surprise to see authentic support come from such an unlikely source.”

“He's such a great example of listening and learning and understanding that being trans is of ZERO consequence to anyone but that person,” somebody else wrote. “It doesn't affect you! Apart from if that person is in your life and, as he says, they are happy, which is something to be celebrated!”

“Will Ferrell continues to be a gd national treasure. His vulnerability in sharing his own growth as an ally while learning about Harper’s experience as a trans woman is a beautiful display of humanity and kindness and a balm that we need right now,” another user tweeted.

Speaking to the Guardian, she said: “The fact is, there was a lot of legislation and bills being introduced across America that were very restrictive and very damaging to my community. And I thought: ‘Well, I could use this celebrity who reaches a much wider audience than I would normally be able to get, to reach out to the people who are passing these bills, maybe.’”