Elliot Page reveals he was forced to wear a dress to the Juno premiere before his gender transition

In an intimate new essay for Esquire, Elliot Page revealed what it was like promoting a film about a teenage girl as a closeted trans man, as well as the way he’s been treated since coming out in 2020.

In 2007, Juno was a huge indie hit, garnering writer Diablo Cody an Oscar for best original screenplay and Page, in the title role, a best actress nomination. But even though the success gave Page the career he’d been working toward, the experience as the face of the film was complicated, to say the least. In a new personal essay for Esquire, the Umbrella Academy star revealed how the movie studio went so far as to control his clothing during the press tour.

“I think of times when people actively were like, ‘No, you need to wear a dress,’ in very, very, very pivotal moments. I remember the premiere of Juno at the Toronto International Film Festival. Previously…I dressed how I wanted to dress—not dissimilar to now…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. They had me wear a dress, and…that was that. 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…?” he wrote, noting not only the unfairness of the situation but also the double standard applied to Cera. 

He further explained that it isn’t just closeted or trans people who need to be able to feel comfortable in their clothes: “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.”

Elliot Page also acknowledged that while his discomfort could be seen as universal, starring in a hit movie is pretty unique and came with its own set of pressures. “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. 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 revealed that actor Catherine Keener was one of the few people he could talk to about his struggles, which were severe. While shooting Inception, for instance, “I struggled with food. Intense depression, anxiety, severe panic attacks. I couldn’t function. There were days when I’d only have one meeting, and I’d leave my house to go to the meeting and have to turn around. Not being able to get through a script—could not. Reading is one of my favourite things to do—I couldn’t read, couldn’t get through a paragraph.”

Thankfully, Page is in a much better place now. As he wrote, “I know I look different to others, but to me I’m just starting to look like myself. It’s indescribable, because I’m just like, there I am. And thank God. Here I am.”

This article originally appeared on GLAMOUR US.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLjApqauqp2WtKLGyKecZ5ufY8Kse8Crq6KbnJp8prjLoqatZaCWtKZ506uYp6uXmrulsdFmnKyrka56q8HNqA%3D%3D