Elliot Page Says Being Forced to Wear a Dress at the 'Juno' Premiere Was "Extremely F—ked Up"
“It doesn’t matter if I’m trans or cis,” he says.
Elliot Page opened up about the time he was forced to wear a dress at the Juno red carpet premiere in 2007, noting it was uncomfortable and it shouldn’t have happened.
Page revealed that prior to this red carpet event, he was allowed to wear whatever he wanted. However, Fox Searchlight had specific demands, which Page was not OK with.
“I remember going and having the thing I wanted to wear, and then understanding the degree of expectation of how fancy someone is supposed to look. So I said I wanted to wear a suit, and Fox Searchlight was basically like, ‘No, you need to wear a dress,’” the actor told Esquire. “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 . . .?”
Page made it clear that regardless of how someone identifies, they should be allowed to wear whatever they want. “And it’s easy for people to roll their eyes, but you know what? No. That was really extremely, extremely f–ked up,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to treat it like just this thing that happened — this somewhat normal thing. It’s like: No. Regardless of me being trans! I’ve had people who’ve apologized about things: ‘Sorry, I didn’t know, I didn’t know at the time.’ It doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter if I’m trans or cis. Lots of cis women dress how I dress. That has nothing to f–king do with it.”
Page added, “I wish I could go back and experience it now. As me.”
