Elliot Page has come out as transgender with a heartfelt statement on social media.
The 33-year-old actor, who currently portrays Vanya Hargreeves in Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, shared a message in simple black text on a white background on Tuesday morning, sharing his name change and his pronouns, which are he and they.
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“I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self,” the former Juno star wrote, also adding that he’s been “endlessly inspired by the trans community” at large, and thanking them as well.
Though Page stated that he was “profoundly happy,” he asked readers for patience as well.
“My joy is real, but it is also fragile,” he wrote. “I’m scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the ‘jokes’ and of violence. To be clear, I am not trying to dampen a moment that is joyous and one that I celebrate, but I want to address the full picture.”
Page went on to acknowledge the “rife, insidious and cruel” discrimination that trans people, especially Black and Latinx trans women, face. As previously reported by them., 2020 has been the deadliest year on record for trans people by a landslide, with at least 40 reported homicides committed against the community.
Even celebrities aren’t exempt. Orange Is the New Black actress Laverne Cox shared a story of a transphobic attack she and a friend suffered while walking in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park this past weekend.
Page acknowledged this epidemic of violence with a message “to the political leaders who work to criminalize trans health care and deny our right to exist and to all of those with a massive platform who continue to spew hostility towards the trans community.”
“[Y]ou have blood on your hands,” he said. “You aren’t being ‘cancelled,’ you are hurting people. I am one of those people and we won’t be silent in the face of your attacks.”
The latter reference was likely a nod to cries of “censorship” from transphobic authors who face backlash after publishing transphobic books or articles, such as Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and, more recently, a billboard campaign centered on Abigail Shrier’s anti-trans manifesto Irreversible Damage.
The actor’s statement ended on a positive note, though, with Page reiterating his love for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly other trans people.
“The more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive,” he wrote. “To all trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better.”
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