Elliot Page says a famous actor threatened to rape him — to convince him he wasn’t gay.
The Inception star, who is one of the most famous transgender performers in Hollywood, details the encounter in his upcoming memoir, Pageboy.
According to Elliot, the incident occurred at a birthday party in Los Angeles back in 2014 after the Oscar nominee came out as gay — before his later transition in 2020.
“You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist. You are just afraid of men,” he recalls in a chapter titled Famous Asshole At Party, excerpts of which were published by People magazine.
Elliot then writes that the threat became more direct: “I’m going to fuck you to make you realise you aren’t gay.”
When the two actors ran into each other at the gym a few days later, the unidentified A-lister claimed he didn’t “have a problem” with gay people. Elliot — who told him, “I think you might” — noted to People magazine that he’s endured other remarks like this many times before.
“I’ve had some version of that happen many times throughout my life,” he told the magazine.
“A lot of queer and trans people deal with it incessantly. These moments that we often, like, don’t talk about or we’re supposed to just brush off, when actually it’s very awful.”
Elliot added that he “purposefully” decided not to name the celebrity in question, but that numerous people at the party bore witness to his remarks.
The Juno star pointedly noted that the man will hear of his inclusion in the book, however, “and know it’s him”.
The real reason he’s sharing that moment with the world, however, is seemingly selfless.
“I put that story in my book because it’s about highlighting the reality, the shit we deal with and what gets sent to us constantly, particularly in environments that are predominantly cis and heterosexual,” Elliot told People.
He added that harassment like this isn’t always “overt” and that “subtle jokes” about gay or transgender people were commonplace.
Elliot also said the “very powerful people” who choose “what stories are being told and creating content” need to be held to account.
In his book, Elliot goes on to reveal he fell in love with Kate Mara in 2014, after coming out as gay.
He writes that Kate’s boyfriend at the time, Max Minghella, was supportive of Kate exploring her own feelings for Elliot — and that Kate admitted she was “in love with two people”.
Elliot says Catherine Keener, Alia Shawkat and Kristen Wiig lovingly helped him navigate his journey. He’s far more comfortable in his own skin these days, however, and gushed about his “trans joy and euphoria” to People.
“Today I definitely feel a way that I never thought I would get to feel,” he told the outlet. “I think that mostly manifests in how present I feel. The sort of ease and the ability to exist. There’s been periods in my life where I really felt like I wasn’t… I just feel so lucky.”
Pageboy hits bookstores on 6 June.
Help and support:
- The Gender Trust supports anyone affected by gender identity | 01527 894 838
- Mermaids offers information, support, friendship and shared experiences for young people with gender identity issues | 0208 1234819
- LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for LGBT people in Scotland. Text 07786 202 370
- Gires provides information for trans people, their families and professionals who care for them | 01372 801554
- Depend provides support, advice and information for anyone who knows, or is related to, a transsexual person in the UK