Will Ferrell breaks silence after documentary with trans friend snubbed by Oscars
Will Ferrell has playfully mocked the Academy Awards for snubbing his documentary “Will & Harper” from this year’s Oscar nominations, telling members of the documentary branch to “suck it” during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The comedian’s Netflix documentary, which chronicles a road trip with his transgender friend Harper Steele, had made the Academy’s shortlist but failed to secure a nomination for the 2025 ceremony.
During the late-night exchange, host Stephen Colbert praised the documentary as “beautiful” and “timely” before asking about its Oscar nomination.
“We didn’t get it,” Ferrell responded bluntly.
After Colbert suggested “f**k the Academy,” Ferrell specifically targeted the documentary branch.
“You don’t want to hang out with the doc branch. What a bunch of losers,” Ferrell quipped.
He added with mock disdain: “In fact, I hope there’s some of them here tonight. See, if you’re a member of the doc branch — suck it!”
“Will & Harper” premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival before Netflix acquired it in an eight-figure deal.
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The documentary follows a 17-day cross-country journey that Ferrell took with Harper Steele, his friend and former “Saturday Night Live” writer after she came out as transgender in 2022.
The film aims to show Steele reintroducing herself “to the country as her true self,” whilst exploring their three-decade friendship.
The National Board of Review named it one of the top five documentary films of 2024.
Despite making the Academy’s shortlist for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song, “Will & Harper” missed out on nominations in both categories.
The Best Documentary Feature nominations instead went to “Black Box Diaries,” “No Other Land,” “Porcelain War,” “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” and “Sugarcane.”
The Best Original Song category, where Kristen Wiig’s “Harper and Will Go West” was shortlisted, ultimately nominated tracks including “Never Too Late,” “El Mal,” “Mi Camino,” “Like a Bird” and “The Journey.”
Speaking to Variety before the film’s premiere, Ferrell acknowledged his previous “zero knowledge” about the trans community.
“I had met trans people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life,” he said.
The comedian later told USA Today that friends had messaged him saying the documentary helped them better understand what it means to be trans.
In an interview with The Independent, Ferrell addressed transphobia, stating: “I think we fear what we don’t know.”