Ellen Page Calls Out Trump And Pence During Powerful Speech About Hate

Ellen Page spoke about the heartbreaking impact that the Trump administration has had on the LGBTQ community

This week, Empire star Jussie Smollett said that he was attacked by two men in Chicago, who beat him, yelled homophobic and racial slurs, threw a chemical substance on him, and put a rope around his neck. This disgusting, repulsive act of violence is a symptom of the Trump administration and their hateful ideology, as Ellen Page explained during a heartbreaking speech on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

The actress broke down exactly how damaging Donald Trump and Mike Pence have been to the LGBTQ community – and many took to Twitter to express gratitude for speaking such an important truth.

Page, who appeared on Colbert to discuss her new Netflix show The Umbrella Academy, said that she was feeling “really fired up.” She explained that she was frustrated that the media wasn’t explicitly categorizing Smollett’s attack as a hate crime and then dug into Vice President Mike Pence’s deplorable views on the LGBTQ community.

“The Vice President of America wishes I didn’t have the love [I have] with my wife,” she said. “He wanted to ban that in Indiana. He believes in conversion therapy. He has hurt LGBTQ people so badly as the governor of Indiana.”

She then asked everyone to connect the dots between what happened to Smollett and the current administration’s stand on LGBTQ people.

“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, you spend your career trying to cause suffering…what do you think is going to happen?” Page said. “Kids are going to be abused and they’re going to kill themselves. People are going to be beaten on the street. I have traveled the world and I have met the most marginalized people you could meet. I’m lucky to have this time and this privilege to say this. This needs to fucking stop.”

People across Twitter applauded Page for eloquently, thoughtfully, and passionately standing up for the LGBTQ community and expressing the awful, dangerous trickle down consequences of a bigoted government.

This is the first of many times that Page has passionately and powerfully spoken out in support of the LGBTQ community. In 2014, the actress came out at the Human Rights Campaign’s Time to Thrive conference, which benefited LGBTQ youth.

“I’m here today because I am gay and because maybe I can make a difference, to help others have an easier and more hopeful time,” she said in her speech. “Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.” She added that she was tired of lying about her sexual orientation.

“I suffered for years because I was scared to be out,” Page said. “My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain.”

So, so much applause to Page for speaking her truth, standing up for people who are suffering, and calling out bigoted politicians. We’re standing in solidarity with you.