Comedian Will Ferrell, has officially accepted a drum battle challenge from his doppelgänger, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ drummer Chad Smith, during a recent Reddit AMA from the drummer.
Ferrell, in his his own recent AMA, acknowledged the pair’s well-noted physical similarities. “A lot of people think that it’s me playing for the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” he said. “But that would be an insult to Chad Smith. The truth of the matter is there is no Will Ferrell. Only Chad Smith.”
In a clip posted by comedy site Funny Or Die yesterday (below), Ferrell admitted that it’s “great to finally clear up the fact that I am Chad Smith”. In his own clip Smith retorted, saying, “Stop impersonating me!… Drum battle, me and you. I’ve seen your skills, you don’t got them.”
Now, Smith has taken part in his own Reddit AMA, and couldn’t avoid the elephant in the room. When asked about whether the drum battle would actually go ahead, the drummer used the public platform to call out Ferrell as a “delusional imposter”.
“His cowbell work is well-documented, but his drumset skills are nominal based on Step Brothers the film,” he said, displaying sound knowledge of Ferrell’s creative output. “Other than wiping his testicles on the drums, which of course I give high marks to.”
Smith continued, “If he chooses to accept the drum battle…If I LOSE, I will work free of charge as his stand-in on his next film or wash his car for the duration of filming. But if I WIN, he has to give me free pedicures for a year. Gotta take care of your feet!”
For a time it seemed that was the end of the matter but, after the AMA was over and Smith had signed off, Ferrell logged on to “graciously accept” the invitation to a drum battle, posting under the same account he used for his own AMA:
“Hi, Chad. Will Ferrell here. I saw your video and I graciously accept your invitation to a drum battle. If we can raise $300,000 for Cancer For College I will face off with you in the greatest drum vs. cowbell showdown the world has ever seen. We can do it on stage at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert or in front of a mutually convenient public library. Your call. Also, would you rather fight a hundred duck sized ducks or one horse sized horse?”
Smith returned to the site to reply, “Hey Will, I’ve logged back in JUST to accept your challenge. Bring IT!”
So it’s on! We don’t know where, we don’t know when, but it’s happening. Perhaps at a Chili Peppers’ gig or public library near you.
This is what Smith is up against.
UPDATE: Ferrell has officially laid down the terms of the battle, once again taking to Reddit to make a statement.
“It’s Will Ferrell and the gauntlet has been thrown down. If we get to $300k in donations to Cancer For College I will take on Chad Smith of the RHCP in an epic drum battle for the ages to prove once and for all who is the real Chad Smith. Go to prizeo.com/will and make this happen.”
The Prizeo page had previously been set up to accept donations to Cancer For College, with donors eligible for a chance to win a meet-and-greet/round of golf with Ferrell in Palm Springs, followed by a viewing of a tennis match featuring Kevin Spacey and Novak Djokovic.
Will Ferrell’s Instagram video
Chad Smith’s Instagram video
