Harper Steele said on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” that anti-trans Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) “dropped all of his principles” to take a photo with comedian Will Ferrell.
Steele, a trans woman who is known for her work as a writer on “Saturday Night Live,” was promoting her new documentary, “Will & Harper,” on Wednesday’s episode of the late night show. She explained that while she and Ferrell were on their cross-country road trip, they went to a basketball game and met Holcomb ― who has passed several anti-trans bills into law ― and who was eager to take a photo with Ferrell.
“We have an uncomfortable moment with the governor of Indiana, who is not very kind of trans people, but he needed to take a picture with Will so bad that he dropped all of his principles,” Steele said. “And that to me is what Will does for me.”
The next day, Ferrell said that he “dropped the ball” because he didn’t anticipate meeting Holcomb.
“I wish I had the wherewithal to go, ‘What’s your stance on trans people,’” Ferrell tells Steele in the documentary.
In 2023, Holcomb banned gender-affirming care for trans minors and banned gender-affirming surgery for Indiana inmates.
Holcomb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Will & Harper,” which chronicles Ferrell and Steele’s cross-country road trip as a way for Ferrell to get to know Steele after she transitioned, is now on Netflix.