Ellen Page talks LGBTi rights and Freeheld

Ellen Page is joined by her girlfriend Samantha Thomas as she walks the carpet for the premiere of her upcoming film Freeheld at the Museum of Modern Art on Monday night (September 28) in New York City.

“I feel so grateful to feel how I feel now, compared to how I felt as a closeted person”, Page said.

Ellen Page has opened up about her time in the closet saying “it is not a nice place to be.it is toxic”. For people like Laurel and Stacie who were no one’s activists and just wanted to keep their heads down and live a quiet, discreet life, this boisterous, out-and-proud pot-stirrer would no doubt seem completely alien.

The actress appeared Tuesday on “The Late Show”, where she discussed her new movie, “Freeheld” – the true story of a lesbian couple’s fight to receive the same benefits as other married couples – and talked about her own experience since coming out.

Page also gave her view on those who object to LGBT equality on “religious conviction”. Taking place in 2006, 41 states considered same-sex marriage illegal, but the U.S. Supreme Court recently legalized gay marriage across the country.

There’s a phenomenon going on in LGBT visibility right now that we might call the New Timidity; it’s one thing to hear the usual hate speech from the likes of Kim Davis and the Pontiff, but even community allies seem to be hedging their bets, worrying about what straight people might think and standing guard against anything or anyone who might be “too” gay. It really changes people’s mind and touches people’s hearts… “And to grow up in a society that doesn’t make us feel less than, that doesn’t make us feel shame”.

Working on the movie was made all the more poignant for Ellen as she chose to “come out” as a lesbian just months before cameras started rolling.