Ronald Reagan’s son Michael Reagan and other prominent conservative voices are not happy about Will Ferrell getting the role of the late president in an upcoming film.
Michael Reagan took to social media to express his feelings about Ferrell playing the role of his father in the film called “Reagan.” He said “Alzheimers is not a comedy!”
Alzheimers is not a comedy!Will Ferrell to play dementia-stricken Ronald Reagan https://t.co/5wdo2PVvHt via the @FoxNews Android app
— Michael Reagan (@ReaganWorld) April 27, 2016
Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis posted a letter on her website after learning the news.
“Alzheimer’s doesn’t care if you are President of the United States or a dockworker,” she said. “It steals what is most precious to a human being — memories, connections, the familiar landmarks of a lifetime that we all come to rely on to hold our place secure in this world and keep us linked to those we have come to know and love.”
“Perhaps for your comedy you would like to visit some dementia facilities,” she added. “I have — I didn’t find anything comedic there, and my hope would be that if you’re a decent human being, you wouldn’t either.”
Another prominent voice in the conservative movement, radio talk show host Joe Walsh, posted on Twitter how he felt about Ferrell getting the job, “Brave Hollywood taking a shot at conservatives again.”
New Will Ferrell comedy about Reagan succumbing to dementia.
Brave Hollywood taking a shot at conservatives again. https://t.co/NZoCL0BP8r
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) April 27, 2016
As previously reported, Ferrell has been selected to play Reagan.The film will reportedly focus on Reagan’s second term in office when “he falls into dementia and an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing the commander in chief that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.”