Ellen Page is making the rounds in order to promote her new film X-Men: Days of Future Past . Her last stop was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , where she discussed her brave act of coming out on Valentine’s Day.
DeGeneres, who was one of the first public figures to come out on national television back in 1997, had only praise for the actress who rose to prominence after her unexpected blockbuster hit Juno. During the interview, which is set to air on May 27, Page and DeGeneres sat down to compare their experiences and how much better they are off because of their decision not to hide a piece of themselves from the public.
Of the experience, Ellen Page told DeGeneres just how much of a weight lifted after she came out back in February:
“I knew I would be a happier person. I did not anticipate just how happy I would feel in every aspect of my life. Just an ease and a comfort. And it’s really been quite extraordinary to feel just the shift. It was pretty much overnight, too.”
The actress drew a very poignant parallel to the talk show host, by saying she wouldn’t be able to come out in the way that she had a few months ago if it wasn’t for DeGeneres’ first steps as a gay woman.
“It was a combination of just such thrill to finally be at that place in my life where I was able to do that, and grateful to have that moment – and grateful to you because you did it at a time where it was much harder and much scarier.”
For Page, the moment to come out was apparent when she realized that she was living a toxic life.
“It’s toxic. I was carrying a tremendous amount of shame and guilt for not being out, and I felt isolated from the LGBTQ community. And now I don’t.”
Ellen DeGeneres seemed to agree that not saying anything is more damaging than anything else.
“There’s something about just not having to worry about somebody catching you in a lie,” said DeGeneres. “I know what that’s like when you’re on a show and you just feel like you’re waiting for someone to go, ‘You’re gay! I know you are!’ “
Page agreed with DeGeneres:
“It’s so nice to have people come up to me and tell me their story or, you know, say, ‘Hey, I’m closeted. Can you give me advice?’ Those are really beautiful moments to get to share with people.”
Watch Ellen DeGeneres’ exchange with Ellen Page below:
[Image Credit: Warner Bros.]
