“What a bunch of losers” — Will Ferrell jokingly tells Academy’s documentary branch nominators to “suck it” after ‘Will & Harper’ Oscar snub

Actor Will Ferrell jokingly called the Academy's documentary branch "losers" on a recent episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert after the actor's documentary Will & Harper received zero nominations at the 2025 Oscars.

Will Ferrell appeared on the late-night show to promote his upcoming Prime movie You're Cordially Invited. After the host, Stephen Colbert praised Ferrell's documentary, the actor jokingly told him to ask if it received any Oscar nominations. Colbert responded,

"It’s such a good documentary. It’s one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in years. It was beautiful, it was timely, it was heartfelt, I was inspired by it. How was the Oscar nomination?"

Following this, Will Ferrell answered that Will & Harper had been snubbed at the Oscars and Colbert jokingly said,

"F*ck the Academy".

To this, the actor replied saying that the people at the documentary branch are "losers." He said,

"Especially the doc branch, the doc branch of the Academy. You don't want to hang out with the doc branch. What a bunch of losers; in fact, I hope there's some of them here tonight. See, if you're a member of the doc branch — suck it!"

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More about Will Ferrell's documentary Will & Harper

Will & Harper [Image via IMDb/@Netflix]

Josh Greenbaum directed the Netflix documentary Will & Harper, which followed Will Ferrell and his friend of 30 years, Harper Steele, on a 17-day road trip across the United States.

Steele and Ferrell told The New York Times in a September 2024 interview that they met in 1995 while working on Saturday Night Live. Steele shared that Ferrell pitched the idea of the documentary in 2021, months after she transitioned to a woman.

According to The Northern Express, the documentary is about the duo redefining their friendship after Harper Steele transitioned to a woman. In 2021, Steele sent letters to her close friends, including Ferrell, announcing her decision to transition and her decades-long struggle with her identity. After the actor read the letter, he offered Steele a road trip to understand and discuss her new life.

Will Farrell told USA Today last year that he wanted to support the transgender community through Will & Harper. He said,

"We’re just trying to lend whatever currency we have to supporting voices that maybe don’t get as much support as they should."

Will Ferrell also told Variety in an September 2024 interview that many people came up to him and said they would watch the documentary with family and friends who don't "share the same viewpoint." The actor hoped it would change peoples' perceptions about transgender people. He said,

"We’ve heard from people who say they can’t wait to see this with friends and family who maybe don’t share the same viewpoint and they’re looking forward to watching it all together. Hopefully, it could slowly chip away at some of that."

According to People's report, the documentary was well received at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The National Board of Review named it one of the top five documentary films of 2024. It has also been nominated for the 2025 BAFTA Awards in the Best Documentary category.

The documentary was filmed in 2021 and was released on September 27, 2024, in select theatres.

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Will & Harper is available on Netflix.