Will Ferrell Says He Wouldn’t Dress In Drag Today When Reflecting On Old “SNL” Sketch

Courtesy of NBC.

As times change, we start to look back in the rear view mirror and assess what does and doesn’t make sense for us. It’s not just in terms of comedy, but society as a whole. That’s a topic that came up when Will Ferrell was promoting a new documentary with the New York Times.

Ferrell sat down with his close friend & former Saturday Night Live head writer Harper Steele, with whom he made the film Will and Harper. The film follows the two driving cross country and examining their relationship and Steele’s coming out as transgender. The film serves as a evaluation of friendships in general, up against the backdrop of a road trip.

While promoting the film, the interviewer asked Ferrell about an SNL sketch where he dressed up in drag as then-Attorney General Janet Reno. The main joke of the sketch was Ferrell playing a woman in drag.

Ferrell wasn’t quick to defend it by any means. “That’s something I wouldn’t choose to do now,” Ferrell said, adding that, “hits a false note now.”

 “This kind of bums me out,” Steele echoed. “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 absolutely a way that we should be able to live in the world. However, with performers and actors, I do like a sense of play.”

For her part, Steele admits to having contributed sketches as a writer that she’s not proud of now. “I wrote Monica Lewinsky stuff I wasn’t proud of. I wrote some good Britney Spears stuff and some stuff that I’m not as proud of. I wrote some Clinton things I wasn’t proud of. I’m just moving on. I have to.”

We’re looking forward to seeing if the film uses that hindsight even further to dissect how times have changed, while also moving forward with the future.