Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
Will Ferrell, who currently threw his hat in the ring for this year’s People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive amidstYou’re Cordially Invited’spress tour, once found himself amid major controversy afterGet Hard’srelease.
Although the film, starring Ferrell as a privileged, white hedge fund manager, boosted $111M at the box office, the movie was bashed by critics and fans over its alleged racist and homophobic undertones.
Even though Ferrell did play an overtly ignorant figure in the movie, theAnchormanstar did later come forward in its defense.
Will Ferrell addressed the backlash againstGet Hard
To say thatGet Hardwas treading on thin ice with its subject matter would be an understatement, as the movie was blasted with racism and homophobia allegations, which made the bulk of the supposed jokes in the movie.
Will Ferrell is a Gangster For Showing No Respect to P Diddy’s “As*hole” Like Demand For His SNL Appearance
In its defense, theElfstar clarified that the movie was apparently a dig at the elites, with his character being the b-tt of the joke (viaThe Independent).
As much as my character knows about financial dealings and how to make a lot of money, he really is completely ignorant about the rest of how the world works.
Moreover, in response to the homophobia allegations, which stemmed from his character’s fright over being potentially r-ped in prison,Will Ferrellexpressed that the film was holding a mirror to society (viaBBC).
For someone who’s just found out they’re going to be incarcerated, sexual assault would be on their mind because it exists. All we’re doing as comedians is holding up a mirror to things that actually exist out there.
Although there’s a case to be made against the overblown controversy surrounding the movie, given its satirical themes, in terms of box-office collection,Get Hardended up benefiting from the media buzz.
Will Ferrell spoke out against transphobes
Ironically, in contrast toGet Hard‘s negative reception, Ferrell’strans documentary, which follows his road trip with Harper Steele, who came out as a trans woman, proved to be a massive critical hit. In addition to the documentary’s successes, Ferrell spoke out against the transphobes, adding (viaThe Independent):
There is hatred out there. It’s very real and it’s very unsafe for trans people in certain situations… 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.
AlthoughGet Hardmight not be one of his notable outings in the last decade, this displays that Ferrell doesn’t shy away from treading into risky endeavors when it comes to comedy.
“I was offered a crazy amount of money”: Will Ferrell’s Biggest Reason For Not Making Elf 2 Despite 2003 Film’s Cult Classic Status
Get Hardis available to rent on Apple TV.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
