Elliot Page says a movie studio forced him to wear a dress for the 'Juno' premiere
- Elliot Page reflected on his life, career, and transition in a new essay for Esquire.
- He also recalled the "Juno" premiere in 2007, where he said he was forced to wear a dress.
Elliot Page, 35, reflected on his life and career in an essay for Esquire published on Wednesday.
In the piece, he discussed growing up, his childhood best friend, his tattoos, transitioning, and more. The actor also talked about his acting career, and shared a painful memory from 2007 when he was promoting his role in "Juno" at the Toronto International Film Festival.
"I said I wanted to wear a suit, and Fox Searchlight was basically like, 'No, you need to wear a dress.' And they took me in a big rush to one of those fancy stores on Bloor Street," Page said.
"They had me wear a dress, and ... that was that," he continued. "And then all the 'Juno' press, all the photo shoots — Michael Cera was in slacks and sneakers. I look back at the photos, and I'm like...?"
Representatives for Fox Searchlight Pictures did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Page said the requirement was a surprise to him, especially because he wasn't familiar with the concept of Hollywood stylists.
"I grew up working in Canada!" he said. "It's different. I dressed how I wanted to dress — not dissimilar to now."
Today, Page sees the experience differently, as he told Esquire. While he noted that he "can't pinpoint a 'worst' day," he said he struggled greatly "when 'Juno' was blowing up."
"This sounds strange to people, and I get that people don't understand. 'Oh, fuck you, you're famous, and you have money, and you had to wear a dress, boo-hoo,'" he said. "I don't not understand that reaction. But that's mixed with: I wish people would understand that that shit literally did almost kill me."
He then said that while it's "easy for people to roll their eyes," he doesn't find the reaction fair.
"No. That was really extremely, extremely fucked up. I shouldn't have to treat it like just this thing that happened —this somewhat normal thing," he said. "It's like: No. Regardless of me being trans! I've had people who've apologized about things: 'Sorry, I didn't know, I didn't know at the time.' It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if I'm trans or cis. Lots of cis women dress how I dress. That has nothing to fucking do with it."
Page came out as transgender in December 2020 via Twitter. He said in a post at the time that his pronouns are he/they, and that he felt "lucky to be writing this."
"I've been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community," he wrote at the time. "Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society."