Elliot Page reflects on pure joy he’s felt since transitioning: ‘It’s improved my lift drastically’
Elliot Page attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Elliot Page has opened up about some of the “unfortunate negativity” he’s received and the pure joy he’s felt since transitioning in an interview with Seth Meyers.
Joining the line-up of Late Night on Tuesday (21 June), Elliot spoke about the negativity he has faced during his transition, including an encounter where he was threatened and harassed by a transphobe.
“I feel like it’s one of those things where it’s so unfortunate,” Page said. “Because it’s like, we’re all on the same team here, you know? Whether you’re trans, gender-nonconforming, cis, we all have these expectations.”
Earlier in the month, Page was the victim of a verbal altercation in which a “big dude” shouted vile slurs and threatened to kill him. He wrote about the encounter in Esquire where he ran from the man, who kept yelling: “I’m gonna kill you, you f****t!”
Despite this, Page is focused on how life has improved since publicly transitioning in December 2020, emphasising the “degree of joy” he has felt.
He also thinks that his quality of life after transitioning could be a representation for those who have an “obsession with the binary” to accept that identifying as transgender significantly helps people.
“It’s improved my life drastically and I hope, you know, I hope maybe people who do have an issue with me can maybe try and hear that, or embrace that on some level,” he said.
Elliot Page attends the Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on 13 September 2021. (Getty/Theo Wargo)
The actor also praised The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman during the interview for how the show’s third season will handle his transition. According to Page, Blackman was “really excited” about incorporating it into the show for his character Viktor Hargeeves.
Elliot’s announcement in 2020 is among one of the most high-profile public transitions in history. His publicity and openness about his journey has inspired countless LGBTQ+ identifying people and allies.
Former GLAAD director of transgender media Nick Adams responded to Page’s announcement in a statement from 2020, saying “Elliot Page has given us fantastic characters on-screen and has been an outspoken advocate for all LGBTQ+ people.
“All transgender people deserve the chance to be ourselves and to be accepted for who we are. We celebrate the remarkable Elliot Page today,” he added.
