Ellen Page: No one should ever be outed unless they’re actively participating in destructive and dangerous policies
The actress came out back in 2014 and married her partner Emma Portner last year
By Steve Brown
Ellen Page says it’s never acceptable to ‘out’ someone unless they are ‘actively participating in destructive and dangerous policies’.
The actress came out on Valentine’s Day back in 2014 after numerous media outlets continued to speculate about her sexuality and although she has now gone on to become an LGBTQ+ advocate, Page believes no one should ever be ‘outed’.
She told net-a-porter: “For me, no. I think there’s an exception if you are a politician and you’re actively participating in destructive and dangerous policies, but it’s not acceptable in any other situation.
“I was 20, I had just fallen in love for the first time with a woman, and I was still navigating my own stuff, while people were writing articles headlined, ‘Ellen Page’s sexuality sweepstake’.
“There was a tabloid magazine that I saw at every checkout, in every gas station, with a picture of me on the cover, and the question: ‘Is Ellen Page gay?’
“It was very detrimental to my mental health.”
The actress – who married her partner Emma Portner last year – also recalled how she was told by executive producers not to come out.
“I was distinctly told, by people in the industry, when I started to become known, ‘People cannot know you’re gay’.
“And I was pressured – forced, in many cases – to always wear dresses and heels for events and photoshoots.
“As if lesbians don’t wear dresses and heels. But I will never let anyone put me in anything I feel uncomfortable in ever again.”