Juno Ellen Page is Gay?

by DAVE FUMAROLA

Roll out the red carpet – Ellen Page officially came out as a lesbian yesterday at an LGBT conference in Las Vegas. Page was speaking at the Human Rights Campaign’s Time to THRIVE event, which promotes the welfare of LGBT youth, at Bally’s Hotel and Casino when she made the not-so-surprising announcement.

“I’m here today because I am gay,” said the 26-year-old actress.  “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.”

Page’s career had already been gaining momentum with films like Hard Candy and X-Men: The Last Stand, but she shot to fame after starring in 2007’s Juno, for which she received an Oscar nomination. She followed that up with turns in Whip It and Inception. She can next be seen in X-Men: Days of Future Past and lesbian drama Freeheld with the lovely and ageless Julianne Moore.

Unlike many closeted celebrities, Page said she was tired of hiding and lying by omission. “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.”

“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,” she 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.”

“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,” Page confessed.

Page also went on to cite examples of “courage all around us,” naming “football hero Michael Sam,” Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox and musicians Tegan and Sara for expanding LGBT visibility with pride.

At the end of her speech, she wished everyone a happy Valentine’s Day, saying, “I love you.” Hey, Ellen, just throwing this out there – there’s a certain editor here at GTSA who is single, cute, in your age bracket and hates every one of your movies, so you know she’s not after your fame!