Will Ferrell says he regrets taking his transgender friend to a steakhouse in Texas after she was booed for disrupting people’s dinner with comments about a trans bill.
Ferrell told The New York Times that it was a “bad choice” to bring former SNL writer Harper Steele to The Big Texan in Amarillo to film his Netflix documentary Will & Harper.
Steele said: ‘We had a little toast and I said something about passing a trans bill, and the room flipped and there was a bit of booing and one woman yelled, ‘We still love you.’ I hate the phrase.’
Recalling his comments in greater detail, Steele added: ‘I’m from Iowa, but I’ll raise a glass to your great state of Texas. I wish you guys would do more for trans rights in this state.’
It’s unclear what Bill Steele was referring to, as Texas is cracking down on transgender women in sports and banning trans people from changing their gender on state documents, including driver’s licenses.
Will Ferrell has said he “regrets” taking his transgender friend Harper Steele (pictured together at the table) to a Texas steakhouse for his Netflix documentary.
Steele said she interpreted the woman’s response as a suggestion that she “stop being trans and give her life to Christ.” But the woman in question was not asked to comment further, and that moment was cut from the finished show.
Steele also claimed that he would have had a better reception in his home state of Iowa, although lawmakers passed a series of anti-trans bills similar to those in Texas.
Ferrell said “the vibe was really bad” at The Big Texan after arriving with his transgender guest in March 2023 while himself dressed as Sherlock Holmes.
He told the Times that he regrets bringing Steele there. But the Anchorman star didn’t explain why he took Steele to the steakhouse in the first place.
Some commentators suggested that the showbiz couple was hoping to cheer people up and cause a scene that would make for good television.
“The saddest part for me is… I just feel… I feel like I let you down at that moment,” Ferrell said tearfully in the film, comparing the situation to being in a “fishbowl.”
Texas has some of the most conservative laws surrounding transgender rights, including a ban on gender-affirming child care, as well as rules requiring teenagers to use specific bathrooms and prohibiting transgender girls from playing on teams. sports that align with their gender.
Ferrell rocked his Sherlock Holmes costume, which only added to the frenzy around them.
Steele recalled how the crowd became hostile after he stood up and gave a speech about the need for greater trans rights in Texas.
The actor was on tour with fellow former SNL actor Harper Steele as part of their film ‘Will and Harper’ which explores Steele’s recent transition.
More recently, the state has prohibited transgender Texans from updating their gender on their driver’s license or birth certificate.
Ferrell explained that he and Steele stopped by the restaurant to participate in their 72-ounce steak challenge.
But the public reaction immediately made Ferrell feel remorse.
“I mean, the vibes were really bad because, to put it bluntly, there was a trans woman sitting there,” she explained.
“I really had no idea how intense it was going to be and I felt responsible for not properly examining the situation we were getting into.
“It seemed like it was going to be a benign place where you eat a big steak in a span of time, and then you walk in and there’s a thousand people sitting in this room and I was like, ‘Oh, why are we here?’ ?’
Ferrell and Steele met on the set of SNL in the 1990s and quickly became friends.
‘I wish I had walked in and said, “No. This is going to be terrible. Let’s just go.” “I felt remorse and guilt for even going there.”
The backlash continued on social media, where the couple was inundated with anti-trans hate and criticism.
However, Steele did not seem to regret making the documentary.
“There is a process of normalization of queer people in the United States, and this film achieves that. It makes the trans experience more understandable,” he said.
Ferrell and Steele met on the set of SNL in the 1990s and quickly became friends.
Steele became head writer and in 2020, the friends co-wrote the Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Steele came out as a trans woman in 2022 at the age of 61.