Elliot Page Speaks Out on Comedians Targeting Trans Community: ‘You Believe It. It’s Not a Joke’
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Elliot Page penned a heartfelt essay for Esquire magazine, in which he detailed the biggest joys and difficulties he faced both while transitioning and while in the closet at the height of his career.
Page shared that the “biggest joy” of transitioning has been “really seeing yourself.”
“I know I look different to others, but to me I’m just starting to look like myself,” he wrote. “It’s indescribable, because I’m just like, there I am. And thank God.”
The actor went on to question why “people making it more difficult?”
“It really breaks my heart. It really breaks my heart. That’s literally all we’re trying to communicate,” he wrote. “That’s what’s so funny to me. When people say, Cancel this. Cancel that. No, they get four more comedy specials and have a jillion followers! The people getting canceled are the trans people who are suffering, or killing themselves, or murdered.”
Page went on to say that he finds the media often pins people against each other, noting, “People can actually be communicating in a way that isn’t aggressive, but then suddenly it’s all about creating this tension, and then this person doubles down on that!”
“And, like: No. It’s a conversation—which, by the way, is what you’re saying you’re asking for,” he added.
Page later called out comedians who have targeted the trans community in their stand up specials. While Page did not name anyone specifically, both Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais have recently faced backlash for jokes aimed at the trans community.
“Jokes have an impact that hurts people. I understand that people might think it doesn’t. I understand that they’re not meaning to. But: It’s not a joke. It’s not a joke. You believe what you’re saying,” Page wrote. “You believe it. It’s not a joke. They believe it. It’s clearly not a joke.”
The actor then sent a message from the trans community: “And all we’re saying is: Can you just please listen and understand the harm that it causes? That’s all we’re trying to say.”
“That is literally all we are trying to say. And then we get inundated with hatred for saying it,” he added. “But I’m sorry: You are the ones who don’t want to have the conversation. You are the ones who are so sensitive, who can’t handle people saying, Hey, can you not do that?”
