Will Ferrell spoke to The Independent as part of his press tour for the Netflix documentary Will & Harper and was asked to share his opinion on why transphobia exists. He replied, “I think we’re afraid of what we don’t know.”

“Will & Harper” revolves around the friendship between Ferrell and Harper Steele. The two met during their careers on “Saturday Night Live” in the 1990s. Steele came out as transgender 30 years after their friendship. The documentary, which was acquired by Netflix after premiering at Sundance earlier this year, follows the two comedians on a road trip across America as they rediscover their friendship following Steele’s transition.

“There’s hate out there,” Ferrell told The Independent. “It is very real and very unsafe for trans people in certain situations. … But I don’t know why trans people should be a threat to me as a cis man. I don’t know why Harper is threatening me.”

“It’s so strange for me because Harper finally…” her“, he added. “She is finally who she was always meant to be. Regardless of whether you can ultimately understand this or not, why should you care if someone is happy? Why is this threatening to you? If the trans community is a threat to you, I think it’s because you’re unsure of yourself.”

Ferrell told diversity at Sundance before the documentary’s premiere that Steele came out as transgender in an email she sent to a handful of friends. “We’ve all been very supportive and expressed our love for each other,” he said. “But that raised the question: How can we help you? What should we do?”

Ferrell said he had “no idea” about the trans community before Harper came out to him.

“I had met transgender people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life,” Ferrell said. “So this was all new territory for me, which is why I think it’s so exciting for us to bring this film to the world, so to speak.” It’s a chance for all of us in the cis community to ask questions and just to listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”

“Will & Harper” will stream on Netflix on September 27th.