Voice of London

Elliot Page famous for his roles in ‘Juno’ and the Netflix sci-fi phenomenon ‘The Umbrella Academy,’ came out as Transgender in a heartfelt Twitter post on Wednesday. 

The 33-year-old actor mentioned that he “felt lucky to be here” and “to have arrived at this place” in his life. Fellow cast members and fans of Page took to social media to show their support and their admiration at the young actors’ courage. 

The Umbrella Academy Twitter page was amongst supporters responding to his posy tweeting, “So proud of our superhero! WE LOVE YOU ELLIOT!!!”

One Twitter user wrote: “You are an example for all the people out there who are scared to come out and express themselves fully. Thank you for inspiring us.” 

Despite warm reactions to Page coming out, other Twitter users had to come to Page’s defence pointing out that several media outlets were misgendering and ‘deadnaming him.’ The Telegraph caught wind of this and even mentioned that the actor coming out was a ‘watershed moment for Hollywood’.

Another Twitter user wrote: “There is a Dutch ‘celeb news’ show, that in a segment about Elliot Page dead named him multiple times.” The same user then followed up by commenting “This is not okay and they should apologize for this.”

Another social media user wrote: “if I see any of you using Elliot page’s deadname it’s on sight, it’s called DEADname for a reason.”

Although there was an overwhelming amount of support, there were also some mixed reactions concerning Elliot Page continuing to play female roles in the Netflix sci-fi ‘The Umbrella Academy’.

Earlier on in the week, transgender activist and Emmy nominated actress Lavern Cox revealed that she and a friend were victims of a transphobic attack. Some Twitter users expressed how they felt that people were focused on Page coming out but there was a lack of attention concerning Cox’s story. 

One Twitter user wrote: “while everyone was talking about Elliot Page, there had been little to nothing said about what recently happened to Laverne Cox.” 

Another Twitter user wrote: “The Silence over the attack of Lavern Cox vs. the praise about Elliot Page shows that y’all value SOME trans lives.”

While Page did not publicly comment on the attack, in his coming-out post, he defended the Black Transgender community by writing: “The discrimination towards trans people is rife, insidious and cruel, resulting in horrific consequences.”

He later raised awareness by saying: “In 2020 alone has been reported that at least 40 transgender people have been murdered, the majority of which were Black and Latinx trans women”. 

To see Elliot Page’s full statement visit: https://twitter.com/TheElliotPage/status/1333820783655837701

Words: Salimotu Shobowale | Subbing: Sam Tabahriti