Transgender Hollywood star Elliot Page — formerly known as Ellen Page — said people need to stop telling transgender jokes because of they are hurtful and cause “harm.”
In a lengthy, rambling essay for Esquire, Elliot Page wrote about growing up in Canada, being bullied in school, and transitioning from female to male. At one point, the Oscar-nominated Juno star argued people should stop cracking jokes about transgenders.
“I came out as gay in 2014, and it’s different. Transphobia is just so, so, so extreme,” the Inception and X-Men star said. “The hatred and the cruelty is so much more incessant.”
“Jokes have an impact that hurts people. I understand that people might think it doesn’t,” Page wrote. “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. You believe it. It’s not a joke. They believe it. It’s clearly not a joke.”
Page added: “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. 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?”
The star didn’t specify the kind of “harm” trans jokes allegedly cause.
Page didn’t mention any comedians by name. In recent months, trans activists have targeted Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais for cracking transgender jokes on their respective Netflix stand-up specials.
***LANGUAGE WARNING***
Page also complained about being forced to wear a dress more than ten years ago to a premiere of Juno, blaming the movie’s U.S. distributor, Fox Searchlight.
“I wanted to wear a suit, and Fox Searchlight was basically like, ‘No, you need to wear a dress,'” Page wrote.
“They had me wear a dress, and . . . that was that. And then all the Juno press, all the photo shoots — [co-star] Michael Cera was in slacks and sneakers. I look back at the photos, and I’m like . . .?”
Page’s Esquire essay featured some candid photos in which the star posed shirtless, with top surgery scars clearly visible.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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