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Ellen Page Regrets Homophobic Joke In Juno

Ellen Page Regrets Homophobic Joke In Juno

Ellen Page
Photography: Ruven Afanador for OUT

To be fair, in 2007 the tiny joke could have been so much worse. 

It's been a decade since Ellen Page had one of her first breakout leading roles in Juno, where she wooed audiences as the sharp, sarcastic high schooler dealing with an unexpected pregnancy.

Now, as one of the most prominent voices for change and LGBTQ equality and representation in Hollywood, Page has become an invaluable voice to the community, and knows that recognizing past mistakes and transgressions is imperative to moving forward. In a recent interview with Bustle, the upcoming Flatliners star looked back at Juno and one scene in particular, where her character thinks Madison sounds "a little gay" for her baby's name, discarding it as an option.

Related | An All-Female Live Reading of Juno Happened to Benefit Planned Parenthood

"It wasn't something I totally registered at the time, but, of course, now that I'm older I do," she said. "So many movies I loved as a kid are just rampant with homophobia and transphobia and biphobia, and I'm not excusing it by any means." Though when she recently did a table read of the film's script for Planned Parenthood, she omitted the problematic line.

Now, looking forward, Page wants to see more inclusion and representation in Hollywood (don't we all). "I think the holdup is fear and people don't want to take risks. They want to make money. And there's a lack of people [of color] hired in every single aspect of the film industry," she said. "It really hurts the industry and it really hurts film. We need more stories. We need more representation. We need more points of view." Read the full Bustle interview, here.

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