This post contains discussion of sexual assault.
In Elliot Page’s new memoir, Pageboy: A Memoir, the star reveals that he was groomed and sexually abused by multiple people as a teenager working in Hollywood.
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But it wasn’t just directors who preyed on Elliot’s vulnerability as a young actor. He also reveals that a member of the Hard Candy production team sexually abused him after gaining his trust.
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Elliot was 16 years old when he worked on the movie, which was released in 2005.
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“As a teenager who dealt with a lot of shitty predatory behavior, it was something I was interested in tackling,” Elliot explained in a new interview with the Guardian, where he also opened up some more about how the abuse impacted him.
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“Apart from the power conversation and the toxicity that comes with that, it is just being a young person who’s in a space with lots of adults and in situations where people took…I don’t even know the word,” he told the publication.
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Six years before Elliot came out as transgender, he’d publicly come out as gay. But prior to that, he’d privately confided in a male actor he was working with at the time.
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He recalls his costar telling him in response, “I’m going to fuck you to make you realize you aren’t gay. I’m going to lick your asshole. It is going to taste like lime. You’re not gay.”
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Elliot does not identify the actor in his book but writes, “Power works in funny ways. He was, and still is, one of the most famous actors in the world.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
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