Elliot Page On How 'F*cked Up' Things Were During 'Juno' & The Reaction To His Transition
"I look back at the photos, and I’m like...?"
Elliot Page recently wrote a bit of a stream of consciousness and he got real about the obstacles he faced before announcing his transition as well as the realities and repercussions he had to deal with afterwards.
On June 1, which marks the beginning of Pride month, Esquire released a piece where the Canadian actor shared in his own words what his experience was like during press for the 2007 hit Juno.
"When Juno was at the height of its popularity, during awards-season time, I was closeted, dressed in heels and the whole look—I wasn’t okay, and I didn’t know how to talk about that with anyone," they wrote.
He added that while he can't pinpoint his "worst day," it was definitely during the time when the movie was at its height and he had to dress a certain way, noting "that sh*t literally did almost kill me."
"I think of times when people actively were like, 'No, you need to wear a dress' in very, very, very pivotal moments," he continued.
"I dressed how I wanted to dress—not dissimilar to now," he said, adding that he wanted to wear a suit to an event which was kiboshed by Fox Searchlight who then took him to "one of those fancy stores on Bloor Street."
Page said that looking back at Juno press, while they had to wear a dress, Michael Cera was in slacks and sneakers.
"I look back at the photos, and I’m like...?" he wrote.
"And it’s easy for people to roll their eyes, but you know what? No. That was really extremely, extremely fu*ked up. I shouldn’t have to treat it like just this thing that happened—this somewhat normal thing. It’s like: No."
As for the reaction to his open letter on social introducing himself as Elliot in 2020, Page says he didn't expect the reaction to be so big.
"In terms of the actual quality of the response, it was what I expected: love and support from many people and hatred and cruelty and vitriol from so many others," they said.
"I came out as gay in 2014, and it’s different. Transphobia is just so, so, so extreme. The hatred and the cruelty is so much more incessant."
Fortunately, it seems like Page is in a better place these days.
"What have I learned from transitioning? I can’t overstate the biggest joy, which is really seeing yourself," he explained.
"I know I look different to others, but to me I’m just starting to look like myself. It’s indescribable, because I’m just like, there I am. And thank God. Here I am. So the greatest joy is just being able to feel present, literally, just to be present."