Zoolander 2: Will Ferrell defends Benedict Cumberbatch’s transgender character after boycott petition

Speaking out: Will Ferrell has defended Zoolander 2
Clodagh Kilcoyne/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Jennifer Ruby18 December 2015
The Weekender

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Will Ferrell has defended Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of a transgender model in new film Zoolander 2.

The comedian, who also stars in the comedy sequel, admitted that he hadn’t seen the finished film but didn’t think that the character was ‘egregious’.

Speaking to BBC’s Newsbeat, he said: “We are making fun of a bunch of different things.

“In terms of reading the script, [there's] that feeling, that world [in which] the movie is established, is so heightened and over the top.”

Controverisal? Benedict Cumberbatch in Zoolander 2

Ferrell, went on to say that he couldn’t really comment until he’d seen the film in its entirety.

“I guess there's some controversy. To me, I don't feel like it was over egregious. But I haven't seen the final movie, so can't really comment.”

The character sparked controversy when the trailer was released last month, with LGPT campaigns calling for viewers to boycott the film altogether.

A petition, which was started soon after the trailer dropped, has already amassed more than 21,000 signatures.

The film’s writer Justin Theroux recently said that the campaign had ‘hurt his feelings’.

He told The Wrap: “I don’t even know what to make of it, because it hurts my feelings in a way.

“I take great care in the jokes I write, and the umbrage being taken is out of the context of the scene.

“I wish people would see the movie first. Satire is a thing that points out the idiots, and we went through it on Tropic Thunder with the ‘R’ word.”

Zoolander 2 is slated for release on February 12, 2016.

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