The film star reveals he was told to hide his sexuality by Hollywood execs
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS, IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM/PORTER
Elliot Page came out in his infamous speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s Time To Thrive conference back in 2014 and has been a huge queer icon since then, speaking out on LGBTQI issues left, right and centre.
In a new interview with Porter, Elliot has opened up about his experiences of being told to hide his sexuality and pressured to dress a certain way by Hollywood executives.
He said: “I was distinctly told, by people in the industry, when I started to become known: People cannot know you’re gay.”
“And I was pressured – forced in many cases – to always wear dresses and heels for events and photo shoots. As if lesbians don’t wear dresses and heels.”
“But I will never let anyone put me in anything I feel uncomfortable in ever again.”
He went on to say that coming out in Hollywood was now “different to 10 years ago”. “I remember being in my early 20s and really believing it was impossible for me to come out. But, over time, with more representation, hearts and minds have been changed.”
“It doesn’t happen quickly enough and it hasn’t happened enough, particularly for the most marginalised in the community. But things have got better.”
He described himself as being “very, very, very closeted” in the first decade of his career and said even when he had accepted his sexuality and began dating women, he would make his girlfriends leave through different exits to hide from the media.
It’s amazing to see how far Elliot has come on his journey of accepting his sexuality and how he has moved past the homophobia he faced in Hollywood. These days his Instagram is filled with cute couple pics with wife, Emma Portner, and we can’t get enough. Keep waving your rainbow flag in the face of adversity, Elliot. You’re an inspiration to us all!
This article was edited in December 2020 to reflect Elliot’s change of name and pronouns.
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