Actor Elliot Page announced his transition from female to man in 2020, becoming the target of transphobic trolls and hatred online. Elliot, who stars in Netflix’s hit show The Umbrella Academy, recently shared his experience of facing all the hatred on a daily basis. Speaking to Esquire, the Canadian actor said that he did not expect the reaction to his transition to be so big. “In terms of the actual quality of the response, it was what I expected: love and support from many people and hatred and cruelty and vitriol from so many others,” said Elliot.
The actor added that he came out as gay in 2014 but the hatred he received for announcing that he is transgender was on another level. “Transphobia is just so, so, so extreme. The hatred and the cruelty is so much more incessant,” Elliot told Esquire.
Addressing transphobia at large, he told the magazine that there are people in elected office who claim that, transgender people are going to be responsible for the end of existence. “That degree of rhetoric is really alarming and horrible. It’s also endless misinformation, and people buy it,” said the Juno actor. He added that the idea of gender being a binary concept that is specifically based on the genitalia of a person is quite a new idea in relation to human history. He also mentioned that trans people existed in every culture throughout history, but it is just that people are not aware of that reality. Banning kids from learning about trans people is a tactical move, said the actor.
Elliot also added that post transitioning as a man, he feels at home. He added that he may look different to others, but to him, he has just started to look like himself. The actor said that transitioning as a man is an indescribable feeling because he just feels like he is home.
Elliot will be reprising his role as Viktor Hargreeves, formerly known as Vanya in the new season of The Umbrella Academy.
