Elliot Page regrets making a homophobic joke in Juno, having admitted that they simply hadn’t ‘totally registered’ the gravitas of the comment in the script at the time.
Page, 36, starred in the 2007 comedy-drama as Juno MacGuff, a teenager who falls pregnant after having sex with friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera).
The couple end up putting the unborn child up for adoption, meeting couple Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), who are desperate for a kid.
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Juno sees Vanessa as uptight and ends up growing close to the seemingly more free-spirited Mark, who shares her passion for music.
At one point, the pair discuss potential baby names, with Mark floating the idea of Madison.
Juno then responds: "Isn't that a little gay?"
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Speaking to Bustle in 2017, 10 years after the film’s release, Page - who uses he/they pronouns after coming out as transgender in 2020 - admitted that he regrets the line in the script, having been a vocal campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights over the years.
"It wasn't something I totally registered at the time," he said.
"But, of course, now that I'm older I do. 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."
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Page has since been trying to make things right, saying in the same interview that he had recently refused to recite the joke during a table read of the film’s script for Planned Parenthood.
In a new social media post, the actor said he felt ‘so grateful for what gender affirming care’ has allowed him, sharing a topless photo to celebrate the ‘joy’ he now feels in his body.
"Dysphoria used to be especially rife in the summer," Page wrote in the image caption.
"No layers, just a T-shirt - or layers and oh so sweaty - constantly looking down, readjusting my oversized tee.
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“It feels so f’ing good soaking in the sun now, I never thought I could experience this, the joy I feel in my body.
“I am so grateful for what gender affirming care has allowed me and I look forward to sharing more of my journey soon.”
The Umbrella Academy star also has a memoir called Pageboy coming out on 6 June, which will shine a light on his journey as a transgender person living in an often harsh and unforgiving world.
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Publisher Flatiron Books said the new book would take a dive into Page's 'relationship with his body, his experiences as one of the most famous trans people in the world, and will cover mental health, assault, love, relationships, sex and the cesspool that Hollywood can be'.
Topics: Elliot Page, Celebrity, Film and TV, LGBTQ
Jess Hardiman