Ellen Page slammed Mike Pence’s anti-LGBTQ views in an emotional interview on Colbert
The current presidential administration has been no friend to the LGBTQ community. They’ve quietly removed LGBTQ-related terminology from official government websites, instituted a transgender military ban, and have Mike Pence—a literal proponent of gay conversion therapy—serving as vice president (aka a heartbeat away from the presidency). And actress and activist Ellen Page has had enough.
Page appeared on the January 31st episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote her new Netflix series Umbrella Academy, and she and the host touched on everything from queer representation in Hollywood to climate change. However, the actress became most impassioned when the conversation turned to Jussie Smollett, the openly gay Empire actor who was the victim of a vicious homophobic and racist hate crime on January 29th (fortunately, Smollett is now doing okay and is currently recovering).
Ellen Page slams Mike Pence's anti-LGBTQ views with emotional speech about hate https://t.co/rnWARvPuYR pic.twitter.com/uZU9ffhy6c
— Mashable (@mashable) February 1, 2019
The openly out actress said, “The Vice President of America wishes I didn’t have the love with my wife. He wanted to ban that [gay marriage] in Indiana. He believes in conversion therapy. He has hurt LGBTQ people so badly as the governor of Indiana, and I think the thing we need to know—and I hope my show Gaycation did this–in terms of connecting the dots, in terms of what happened the other day to Jussie […]—connect the dots. This is what happens.”
She continued, her voice breaking, "If you are in a position of power, and you hate people, and you want to cause suffering to them—you go through the trouble [and] you spend your career trying to cause suffering...what do you think is gonna happen? Kids are gonna be abused, and they're gonna kill themselves, and people are gonna be beaten on the street. [...] This needs to f-cking stop."
You can watch Page’s moving words for yourself below (the section on Pence begins at around 7:30):
We commend Page for using her platform to speak up on behalf of those who do not have the privilege or opportunity to speak for themselves. The effects of homophobia and anti-LGBTQ sentiments are very real and have far-reaching consequences for so many people who just want the same rights, freedoms, and safeties as everyone else. As the actress said, this needs to f-cking stop.
