‘Will & Harper’ stars have some advice on coming out and trans allyship

One of the best documentaries of the year, Will & Harper debuts on Netflix today, and the Out team spoke with the cast and crew about the film, how to be a good trans ally, and gay icons.

Will & Harper follows longtime friends Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, who met when they started working at SNL the same week 30 years ago. When Harper came out as trans, the two decided to go on a cross-country road trip to get reacquainted with each other and the country.

Out’s very own Raffy Ermac got to talk with the stars and director of the film on the red carpet during the Los Angeles premiere of the film, where he played a fun game of Out the Bag, where we ask our fave celebs to blindly draw a bunch of fun questions from a designer purse!

The first question, which Steele pulled from a Jacquemus Chiquito, asked her to name someone who should be a queer icon, and she suggested her good friend Will.

A moment later, he proved why that should be the case.

Ferrell pulled a question asking “what advice would you give to young trans folks who are too afraid to come out to their loved ones,” and gave a really great and thoughtful answer.

“Everyone has a different set of circumstances and a different level of support, but I would just say this: If you can muster up the courage, you will feel such joy, and it will change your lives in so many different ways beyond what you can even imagine,” he said.

The film’s director Josh Greenbaum also got in on the game, answering a question about being a better ally.

“I think a lot of people want to be allies, they want to be friends, but they’re afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, and so they don’t engage,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of, if you ever get a heavy email and you stop and you think I’ve got to say all the right things, and then you take too long and you never really respond. I think the reality is no, just respond quickly. Because the way I think to be a good friend, a good ally is simple. Show up, be there. Listen.”

“You see it in the film, I think Will is such a powerful ally throughout this film because he gives Harper space and he listens to her story and through that, I think she feels very supported.”

Greenbaum also drew the card asking who deserves to be a gay icon, and gave a perfect answer.

“Well, we know the answer to that. Harper Steele, she absolutely, period! She was on the cover of The Advocate, so I think she’s on her way.”

Watch the full episode of Out the Bag in the video above. Will & Harper is now streaming on Netflix.

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