News & Opinion
Ellen Page Says LGBTQ+ Rights Are 'Not a Debate'
“This is life or fucking death for people.”
February 15 2019 9:09 AM EST
May 31 2023 5:24 PM EST
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“This is life or fucking death for people.”
Ellen Page is here today because she is gay, NOT because she thinks gay rights are up for debate.
The actress stars in Netflix's Umbrella Academy, based on the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and comic book artist Gabriel Ba, out Friday. Page told British news outlet The Independent in a profile published Friday that the media must stop framing things like marriage and discrimination as if there were two sides to every matter of LGBTQ+ rights.
"There is one side that is right, and there is one side that is wrong," Page told arts writer Alexandra Pollard. "Gay marriage... It's not a debate. Whether you have the religious right to fucking not serve a queer person or a trans person, that's not a debate. And the media needs to stop treating it like it's a debate."
"It's actually Not. A. Debate. It never has been. Like... Stop it," she added.
In recent weeks, Page has made headlines in recent weeks for connecting Vice President Mike Pence's homophobic policies to the physical violence Jussie Smollett faced in Chicago and for calling out actor Chris Pratt for promoting a church with ties to a homophobic organization. She stands by everything she has said, telling The Independent that it's a matter of "life or death" for many LGBTQ+ people.
"I've met people who have dealt with the most brutal fucking trauma because of the rhetoric and policies that are promoted by people in power," she said. "This is fucking life or death for people... It's life or death. And that's not an exaggeration."
Read the full profile over at The Independent.
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