Will Ferrell Backs Out of Reagan Alzheimer’s Comedy

Actor Will Ferrell has backed out of a movie that would have made light of President Ronald Reagan‘s battle with Alzheimer’s after the premise received condemnation.

“The REAGAN script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered,” Ferrell’s agent told The New York Post. “While it is by no means a ‘Alzheimer’s comedy’ as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project.”

According to a report from Variety, Ferrell would have played Reagan at the beginning of his second term, when the fictional version of Reagan would develop dementia. A White House intern would then be charged with convincing the former actor that he was playing the role of the president for a film.

The project was criticized harshly by conservatives and disability advocates, but no one was harsher than Reagan’s own family. “This movie is cruel, not just to my father, but to the millions of people who have the disease, and the millions more who care for them and watch them suffer every day,” his daughter Patti Davis said.

[Image via screengrab]
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