Elliot Page opens up about some of the most harrowing experiences of being an LGBTQ person in his new book, Pageboy. The actor spoke to People ahead of the release of the memoir, in which he revealed that an actor once attacked him and told him being gay “doesn’t exist” prior to his transition.
In a chapter titled “Famous Asshole at Party,” Page revealed that a few months after he came out as gay at a Human Rights Campaign speech in 2014, an actor he considered an “acquaintance” at the time, came to him after a party and threatened to have sex with him.
“You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist. You are just afraid of men,” Page wrote, adding that the actor told him: “I’m going to fuck you to make you realize you aren’t gay.”
Days later, the actor approached Page at the gym and attempted to backtrack his statement saying he didn’t “have a problem with gay people, I swear.” Page responded: “I think you might.”
To People, Page said that those sorts of instances happened “many times” in his life, and it’s something that queer people face constantly. (Page later shared he was transgender in 2020.)
“A lot of queer and trans people deal with it incessantly. These moments that we often like don’t talk about or we’re supposed to just brush off, when actually it’s very awful,” he said. “I put that story in the book because it’s about highlighting the reality, the shit we deal with, and what gets sent to us constantly, particularly in environments that are predominantly cis and heterosexual.”
He continued, “How we navigate that world where you either have more extreme, overt moments like that. Or you have the more, like, subtle jokes. [In Hollywood] these are very powerful people. They’re the ones choosing what stories are being told and creating content for people to see all around the world.”
Page opted not to share the actor’s name, adding that many people at the party had seen what happened. “He will hear about this and know it’s him,” he added.
Elsewhere in his People cover story, Page opened up about having a secret relationship with Kate Mara while she was still dating “the lovely and talented Max Minghella.” Page said Mingellawas supportive of Mara exploring her feelings for Page.
“This was right after I’d come out as gay, and it was a time of exploration and also heartbreak,” Page told the outlet. “I think my relationship, or whatever you want to call it with Kate, very much encapsulates a certain dynamic that I consistently found myself in, which was falling for people that — I think a lot of us do this — who aren’t fully available. And the sort of safety in that and the highs and the lows and the serotonin bump, and then it goes away.”
Page and Mara are still very close, Page said. Mara will join him during a book event later this month.