Yahoo Lifestyle Will Ferrell Says Fans ‘Were Not Too Happy’ About Buddy the Elf Smoking and Thought: ‘Please Be True to the Character. That Was Not Cool’
Will Ferrell recently told People magazine that some of his fans were not too thrilled with his decision to revive Buddy the Elf as a grizzled drinker and smoker. The comedian went viral on social media after attending the Dec. 29 hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers in his Buddy the Elf costume, only he added a beer in hand and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
“Some people were not too happy, though,” Ferrell told the magazine. “They thought, ‘Please be true to the character. That was not cool.’ Buddy was having a bad day. Yeah. He just went to a hockey game, smoked cigarettes and drank beer.”
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Ferrell’s appearance at the Kings game initially went viral due to FanDuel Sports Network broadcaster Carrlyn Bathe, who reported live from the game and spoke to Buddy. The character told her at the time that “it was a tough holiday season” and “he’s looking for a Kings win.” Social media had a field day with Ferrell’s unexpected revival of one of his most iconic characters. “Elf,” released in 2003, earned over $220 million at the worldwide box office and remains a Christmas classic.
Ferrell appeared on Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast earlier this month to explain the rationale behind his decision to bring Buddy back in such an unexpected way.
“Buddy the Elf got laid off, I think, from the North Pole,” Ferrell joked. “He’s having a pull from his beer, smoking a cig. … I get these weird ideas every now and then. We’re season ticket holders for the L.A. Kings. We have seats right on the glass. I told my wife, ‘Over the break, it would be funny if I just got a Buddy the Elf costume and didn’t shave for a week, and I’m just sitting there with a candy cigarette and I’m just gonna sit there for a period and see how people react.’”
“The reaction was insane!” Ferrell added. “Like, what is he doing? Is he promoting something? But occasionally I just like to do weird things like that just to stir it up.”
Ferrell has recently been making the press rounds alongside Reese Witherspoon in support of their R-rated romantic-comedy “You’re Cordially Invited,” directed by Nicholas Stoller. The movie is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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