Actress Ellen Page on Friday came out
gay.
The 26-year-old Page made the
announcement in a speech delivered at Time to THRIVE, an LGBT youth
conference hosted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and held at
Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I am here today because I am gay,”
the Juno star told the crowd. “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.”
“I am tired of hiding and I am tired
of lying by omission,” she
added. “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 that pain.”
Page added that she had been affected
by Hollywood.
“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. Not just young people, but
everyone. Standards of beauty. Of 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,” she continued. “I
have been trying to push back, to be authentic, to follow my heart,
but it can be hard.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
After delivering her speech, Page
thanked her supporters on Twitter: “Thank you @HRC and everyone for
all the love and support. X.”