14 DAY TRIAL // 26-year-old actress Ellen Page attended the Human Rights Campaign Time to Thrive Conference on Valentine’s Day and, in between showing her support for the LGBT community and pleading for equality, she also came out in what is now being described as a “spectacular” fashion.
Video of Ellen’s passionate speech is included below. She’s always been very articulate about the topics close to her heart, as her fans must know, but it feels like she never put this much passion into one single speech as she does in this one.
Halfway in the video, it becomes easier to understand why: Ellen isn’t just another one of those celebrities who show up for various functions and hold a speech because they were asked (or paid) to, she really cares. And that’s because she is gay too.
“I’m here today because I am gay. And because maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility,” the actress said, adding, “I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission.”
She’s referring to older rumors on her orientation, rumors which, as she hints herself in the speech, probably started because she was in the public eye and would not conform to Hollywood’s standards of beauty and femininity.
“It’s weird because here I am, an actress, representing — at least in some sense — an industry that places crushing standards on all of us. Not just young people, but everyone. Standards of beauty. Of a good life. Of success. Standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me,” she said.
“You have ideas planted in your head, thoughts you never had before, that tell you how you have to act, how you have to dress and who you have to be. I have been trying to push back, to be authentic, to follow my heart, but it can be hard,” Ellen added.
She explained that she found strength and motivation in the LGBT community because she understood she was not alone – and that she didn’t have it the hardest, either.
“I suffered for years because I was scared to come out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I'm standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of the pain,” Ellen continued.
When she finally said the words “I am gay,” Ellen Page received a standing ovation. Check out her beautiful speech in its entirety below.
