Will Ferrell suggested that he regrets his 1997 impression of then-Attorney General Janet Reno on Saturday Night Live.The actor and best friend and frequent collaborator Harper Steele were on the latest episode of The New York Times podcast The Interview to talk about their new film, Will & Harper, and their long friendship. The documentary, currently in select theaters and arriving on Netflix September 17, follows Ferrell and Steele, who came out as trans in 2021, on a road trip across the U.S. and has been lauded by critics as a moving and quite funny portrait. Related Will Ferrells road trip with his trans friend will make you cry in Will & Harper The new documentary about a writers transition and her friendship with comedian Will Ferrell is moving and timely. Ferrell and Steele met in 1995, when they were both hired to work on Saturday Night Live, Ferrell as a member of the shows cast and Steele as a writer. The two became close friends and collaborated frequently, later co-writing the 2020 comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today On The Interview, host David Marchese asked how SNL has evolved since their time at the long-running NBC sketch comedy series.I feel like its more inclusive, Steele said. The staff and the cast feels a little more inclusive than in our era.Thats changed for sure, Ferrell agreed.Marchese then asked if there was anything from their time on SNL that makes Steele and Ferrell cringe now. I think, Id have to go back and actually review shows, but Im sure thered be a fair amount where you lament the choice, Ferrell said. Marchese noted that Ferrells Reno impression hits a false note now. The 1997 skit Janet Renos Dance Party saw Ferrell performing in drag as the Clinton-era attorney general with an exaggeratedly deep voice and awkward attempts to relate to teens.Yeah, thats something I wouldnt choose to do now, Ferrell admitted.This kind of bums me out, though, Steele chimed in. This is something that I actually feel a little bit differently about it.I understand the laugh is a drag laugh, she continued. Its the Hey, look at this guys gotten in a dress and thats funny. Its absolutely not funny. Its absolutely a way that we should be able to live in the world. At the same time, Steele explained, she has conflicting feelings about what is acceptable when it comes to depictions of LGBTQ+ people in comedy.This is an interesting question to me: Do queer people like The Birdcage, or do they not like it? she said, referencing the 1996 film in which Robin Williams played a gay Miami nightclub owner. Robin Williams, at least as far as we know, was not a gay man, and yet he spent about a half of his comedy career doing a swishy gay guy on camera. Do people think that thats funny, or is it just hurtful? And Ive heard from gay men that it was funny, and Ive heard from gay men that it was hurtful, and I understand both.I am accusably purple-haired woke, she added. But I do wonder if sometimes we take away the joy of playing when we take away some of the range that some performers, especially comedy performers, can do. Steeles indirect comparison of the two performances is interesting. She correctly critiques Ferrells impression of Reno for being just that: an impression meant, at least in part, to poke fun both at the idea of a man in a dress and at Renos perceived failure to adequately live up to strict gender norms. By contrast, Williams performance in The Birdcage may rely on what some may perceive as gay stereotypes, but it was never meant to ridicule men like his character. A longtime gay ally, Williams fully embodied a certain type of gay man in the film, and at the root of his performance was the idea that his characters self-presentation, his way of being in the world, his swishiness, is valid. His performance invites us to laugh at his character not in ridicule, as Ferrells Reno impression does, but in recognition and solidarity.