Will Ferrell and Harper Steele ‘s visit to the Lone Star State was not met with southern hospitality. While discussing their Netflix documentary Will & Harper , the longtime friends recounted an “intense” moment of transphobic microaggression at Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, which didn’t make it into the final cut. “We gave a little toast, and I said something about passing a trans bill,” Steele told The New York Times .
“And the room did a kind of reversal and a little bit of a boo and a woman shouted out, ‘We still love you.’ I hate the phrase. I could be misinterpreting this woman completely, but this is the feeling I had in the room: The ‘still’ is conditional.
You still love me when I finally give up being trans and give my life over to Christ. They still love me even though I’m some kind of sinner or something. I felt that.
” Steele explained, “The room started to feel very wrong to me. I was feeling a little like my transness was on display, I guess, and suddenly that sort of made me feel not great.” Last year, Texas Gov.
Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 14, banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The Texas Supreme Court upheld the decision in June. Other bills that have passed in the state seek to prevent drag shows in public places and force transgender student athletes to compete on sports teams that align with their biological sex.
Ferrell said he felt “remorse” and “guilt” for putting Steele in that situa.
