Will & Harper: Will Ferrell breaks down in tears over transphobic abuse of Harper Steele in Texas

Steele received abusive tweets after she and Ferrell were spotted at a steakhouse in Texas

Will Ferrell breaks down in tears after a rough night in Texas with his friend Harper Steele in their new Netflix documentary Will & Harper.

The film follows the friends of 30 years on a road trip across America to reintroduce Steele, former head writer at Saturday Night Live, to her country after she came out as a trans woman and transitioned during the pandemic.

At one point on the trip, the duo stop at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, where they take on its famous 72-ounce steak-eating challenge.

The two are placed on a stage to complete the challenge and a crowd quickly gathers around them as diners film and take photos of Ferrell.

“As much as I’ve been in a fishbowl in various times in my life, this trumps all of it,” Ferrell says in the restaurant.

The film then shows a selection of transphobic tweets about Steele shared after the public sighting.

Will Ferrell (left) and Harper Steele in ‘Will & Harper’ (Courtesy of Netflix)

In the car the next day, Steele says: “The room started to feel very... wrong to me, and, I mean, the crowds that come around you so quickly. I was feeling a little like my trans-ness was on display, I guess. And suddenly, that sort of made me feel... not great.”

Ferrell begins to cry before saying: “The saddest part for me is, uh... I just feel... I feel like I let you down in that moment.”

Steele comforts her friend before the Step Brothers star adds: “I was like, ‘Oh, s***, We gotta worry about Harper’s safety.’ You know, like what... That’s where I just... I feel like I... Yeah.”

Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar), the new documentary film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix.

In 2022, at the age of 61, Steele sent Ferrell a letter in which she told him she is trans, and was newly in the process of transitioning. “I just ask you as my friend to stand up for me,” Steele wrote. “Do your best to, if I’m misgendered, just speak up on my behalf, that’s all I ask.”

In a recent interview for The Independent, Adam White asked Ferrell why he thought transphobia exists.

The comedy star replied: “There is hatred out there. It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations. But I don’t know why trans people are meant to be threatening to me as a cis male. I don’t know why Harper is threatening to me.

“It’s so strange to me, because Harper is finally... her. She’s finally who she was always meant to be. Whether or not you can ultimately wrap your head around that, why would you care if somebody’s happy? Why is that threatening to you? If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it stems from not being confident or safe with yourself.”

Will & Harper is out now on Netflix.