Will Ferrell has reportedly pulled out of the Ronald Reagan comedy in which he would have portrayed the president struggling with Alzheimer's disease.
The "Stepbrothers" star and "Saturday Night Live" alum confirmed the news on
Friday, the New York Post's Page Six reported.
“The 'REAGAN' script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered. While it is by no means a [sic] ‘Alzheimer’s comedy’ as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project," the actor's spokesperson said in a statement.
News of the project sparked immediate outrage this week, even from Reagan's own family, with Michael Reagan joining Patty Davis in criticizing the movie and concept.
“Reagan,” a Black List script written by Mike Rosolio, is about an intern who tries to convince the president after he falls into dementia that he is an actor playing the president in a movie, according to
The Hollywood Reporter. The project doesn’t have a director yet.
Michael Reagan lashed out about the film on Twitter.
Ferrell, who impersonated President George W. Bush on "SNL," was reportedly set to produce and star in “Reagan,” which was one of 2015's "most liked,” but as yet, unproduced screenplays,
CBS News reported.
Davis objected to the film in an open letter on her website.
“Perhaps you have managed to retain some ignorance about Alzheimer’s and other versions of dementia. Perhaps if you knew more, you would not find the subject humorous,” she wrote.
She described watching her father struggle with the disease.
“Alzheimer’s is the ultimate pirate, pillaging a person’s life and leaving an empty landscape behind. It sweeps up entire families, forcing everyone to claw their way through overwhelming grief, confusion, helplessness, and anger,” she wrote.
President Reagan died in 2004, 10 years after disclosing his diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease.
Twitter users shared mixed reactions to the initial news about the film.
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