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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Will Ferrell has revealed that he would no longer attempt to do his infamous Saturday Night Live drag impersonation of Former United States Attorney General Janet Reno as it “hits a false note now”.
Reno, who passed away in 2016 from complications with Parkinson’s disease, was the first woman to ever serve in the position in the US government, holding the role from 1993 until 2001.
During his time on SNL, which lasted from 1994 until 2001, Ferrell would dress in drag for a regular skit called “Janet Reno’s Dance Party”.
The long-running segment featured the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Kevin Spacey and even Reno herself, following her exit from the Justice Department in January 2001.
However, Ferrell now feels that the joke “is something I wouldn’t choose to do now.” The 57-year-old made the claim during an appearance on The New York Times podcast alongside former SNL head writer Harper Steele.
“This kind of bums me out - I understand the laugh is a drag laugh,” said Steele. “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.”
Ferrell added that there was a “fair amount” of SNL segments “where you’d lament the choice” to star in them. The Anchorman and Elf star joked: “I mean, in a way, the cast - you’re kind of given this assignment - so I’m going to blame the writers.”
Steele joked in response: “Yeah, he’s not culpable at all.”
It comes as Ferrell has been applauded by fans for his new Netflix documentary with Steele, called Will & Harper.
The comedian was one of a small group of Steele’s family and friends who received an email from the former Saturday Night Live writer announcing they were a trans woman in 2021.
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The subsequent documentary, directed by Josh Greenbaum, follows the pair as they embark on a 16-day road trip across the US together to reflect on what this “new version” of Steele means for their decades-long friendship.
“We’d go to Lakers games, go on road trips together, surprise each other at random little bars in costume,” Ferrell told Netflix of their friendship.
In the Will & Harper trailer, released this Friday (6 September), Ferrell says: “What if we went on a road trip together, giving her a chance to go into a cowboy bar or whatever places she misses, and I can be by her side and lend support as a friend?
“At the same time, it would give us a chance to reconnect, and figure out what this transition means to our relationship.”
