Ellen Page Comes Out As Gay: 'I Am Tired of Lying by Omission'

[Swinny]

Ellen Page Comes Out As Gay: 'I Am Tired of Lying by Omission' (Exclusive)

Ellen Page has come out as a gay woman.

The star of the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past made the announcement in a moving and deeply personal speech delivered at Time to THRIVE, a conference to promote the welfare of LGBT youth held at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"I’m here today because I am gay," Page, 26, told the audience "And because maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility."

"I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission," Page proudly and defiantly declared. "I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain."

Page first shared the inner turmoil she's felt since she was thrust into the Hollywood limelight following the blockbuster success of 2007's Juno.

"It’s weird because here I am, an actress, representing -- at least in some sense -- an industry that places crushing standards on all of us," Page said. "Not just young people, but everyone. Standards of beauty. Of a good life. Of success. Standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me."

Watch Page's coming out speech:

"You have ideas planted in your head, thoughts you never had before, that tell you how you have to act, how you have to dress and who you have to be. I have been trying to push back, to be authentic, to follow my heart, but it can be hard," she admitted.

Page added that reading about herself in the tabloids can be a trying ordeal, and mentioned one article, accompanied by a paparazzi photo of her wearing sweatpants on the way to the gym, that asked, "Why does this petite beauty insist upon dressing like a massive man?" (The answer: "Because I like to be comfortable.")

That kind of gender stereotyping serves "no one," Page said. She then went on to single out examples of "courage all around us," naming "football hero Michael Sam," Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox and musicians Tegan and Sara Quin for their contributions to furthering LGBT visibility and pride.

She concluded her remarks by wishing the audience a happy Valentine's Day, sweetly adding, "I love you."

Born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Page worked in Canadian television before making her first stateside splash in 2005 revenge-thriller Hard Candy. She then played Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat, in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. But it was her breakout performance as the pregnant teen title character of Juno that catapulted her to international superstardom.

Next, Page will appear in indie drama Freeheld, starring opposite Julianne Moore as a gay couple whose pension benefits are frozen after one is diagnosed with a terminal disease. The fact-based film, a passion project for Page, also stars Zach Galifianakis.

Time to THRIVE organizer Human Rights Campaign posted the news to Twitter and Facebook shortly after Page made her remarks, which they later posted in full to their Tumblr.

Hollywood Reporter

 

[Lover Boy]

That's good for her, it's good to see a lot more famous people not being afraid to come out lately.

 

[DuFour]

LOL! How dumb does she think we are? We all saw her have a baby in Juno...

 

[Fuji Vice]

First off, this is not news...any moron could have figure out she was gay. That being said, its also annoying that every single fucking time someone "comes out" its treated as news. You know, being gay really isn't that big of a deal anymore, so it shouldn't be treated as such. It shouldn't be news, it should just be reality.

 

[Wang Chung]

First off, this is not news...any moron could have figure out she was gay. That being said, its also annoying that every single fucking time someone "comes out" its treated as news. You know, being gay really isn't that big of a deal anymore, so it shouldn't be treated as such. It shouldn't be news, it should just be reality.

But that is the problem with the media all forms of bigotry would disappear if they stopped reporting about it. If they quit saying how everything is racist we would have a diminished racist view on things if they quit saying hey look NPH is gay look at him and if politics would quit trying to make it an issue a lot of these things would disappear.

using facial recognition on my galaxy s4

 

[Castiel]

I guess I had just assumed this was news years ago.

 

[Sabretooth]

Lmfao I showed a picture of her to my dad and he said "she's not gay she's confused"

Anyway it does annoy me how they make such a big fûçkîng deal every time someone comes out and makes them seem like some kind of hero. This is 2014, its not the end of the world anymore. Let it be

 

[Joey]

I love her. Good for her

 

[Swamps]

I'm with everyone else. I don't care what a person's sexual orientation is, nor do I want to see them flaunt it. I am by no means saying that is what she is doing here. It does aggravate the piss out of me when athletes are called "Heros" when they come out of the closet. Hell Pat Patterson was openly gay (actually homosexuality is pretty common in pro wrestling) for years and no one gave two shits in the WWF, so why did Darren Young get so many "Oh he so brave" remarks? People watch a news story and then BAM! They got feel whatever way they're programmed to feel...

Oh by the way, Juno was an awesome movie and the chick is a great actor. Anyone remember the guy who played her father in the movie? Yeah, he was the Jail House rapist, Schillenger, in HBO's OZ. Great Character and Actor.