Yahoo Lifestyle Will Ferrell Says His Janet Reno Impression on SNL Is ‘Something I Wouldn’t Choose to Do Now’
Will Ferrell has some regrets about one of his most enduring SNL impersonations.
Ferrell, who spoofed then-Attorney General Janet Reno during his time as an Saturday Night Live cast member, now says the impression is “something I wouldn’t choose to do now” in a new interview with The New York Times. Ferrell is now appearing in a new documentary, Will & Harper, alongside his longtime friend and SNL writer Harper Steele, who came out as transgender two years ago.
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Steele, though, says Ferrell’s declaration “kind of bums me out,” adding that while simply seeing a man dressed in women’s clothes shouldn’t be played for cheap laughs, “with performers and actors, I do like a sense of play… I wonder if sometimes we take away the joy of playing when we take away some of the range that performers, especially comedy performers, can do.”
Ferrell appeared as Reno multiple times during his SNL tenure, portraying her as a lumbering brute who smashed through walls and awkwardly hosted “Janet Reno’s Dance Party.” But Reno, who served as Attorney General under President Bill Clinton and passed away in 2016, eventually made peace with the impression, appearing alongside Ferrell in a 2001 SNL episode and saying that the recurring sketch reminded her “how important humor is.”
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