Will Ferrell regrets ‘SNL’ drag sketches like Janet Reno

Will Ferrell is no longer interested in performing drag acts for laughs. During an interview on The New York Times podcast ‘The Interview’ Joined by his longtime friend and former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Harper Steele, Ferrell expressed some regret about the “The Fantasies of Janet Reno” sketch from season 23 of the sketch comedy show. The sketch featured Ferrell in drag as the eponymous attorney general, using his appearance dressed as a woman for laughs.

“That’s something I wouldn’t choose to do now,” Ferrell said when The Times noted that the character “hits a false note now.”

“Things like this crack me up,” Steele added. ‘I understand that the laugh is a drag laugh. It’s, ‘Hey, look at this guy in a dress, and that’s funny.’ It’s definitely not funny. It’s absolutely a way we should be able to live in the world. However, I do like a sense of play with artists and actors.”

“This is an interesting question to me,” Steele continued. “Do queer people like ‘The Birdcage,’ or not? Robin Williams was not, at least as far as we know, a gay man, and yet he spent about half his comedy career making a swishy gay man for the camera. Do people find that funny, or is it just hurtful? I’ve heard from gay men that it was funny, and I’ve heard from gay men that it was hurtful. I woke up with purple hair, but I wonder if sometimes when we take away some of the range that artists, especially comedic artists, can do, we take away the joy of playing.

Steele came out as transgender after three decades following her friendship with Ferrell, which is now the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary “Will & Harper.” The film, which was acquired by Netflix after premiering at Sundance earlier this year, finds the two comedians on a road trip across America as they rediscover their friendship following Steele’s transition.

Ferrell said The times that he is sure there are “a fair amount” of sketches from his “SNL” period “where you would regret the choice.” He later joked, “I mean, in a way, the cast — you’re kind of given an assignment. So I’m going to blame the writers.”

“Yes, he’s not guilty at all,” Steele responded playfully before saying in a more serious tone, “I wrote things for Monica Lewinsky that I wasn’t proud of. I’ve written some good stuff for Britney Spears and some stuff I’m not so proud of. I wrote some things about Clinton that I wasn’t proud of. I’ll just move on. I have to.”

Steele and Ferrell met during their days at “SNL,” which Harper wrote for from 1995 to 2008. Harper came out as transgender in 2022.

“Harper emailed many of her close friends with the headline, ‘Here’s a weird one,’” Ferrell said Variety at Sundance earlier this year. “She went on to explain that she was transferring and of course we were all excited to hear the news and surprised to hear the news. We were all extremely supportive and expressed our love… but that opened up the questions like: How can we help you? What do you want us to do?’

Ferrell said he had “no knowledge” about the trans community before Harper came to him.

“I had met transgender people, but I didn’t have anyone in my life personally,” Ferrell said. “So this was all new territory for me, and that’s why I think it’s so exciting for us to bring this film to the world. It’s an opportunity for all of us in the cis community to ask questions, but also to just listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”

“Will & Harper” streams September 27 on Netflix.