<o
<o
</o
<![endif]-->
Actress Ellen Page came out as gay yesterday at a conference for LGBT teens in Las Vegas, telling the crowd 'I’m tired of hiding.'
The 26-year-old star, who shot to fame as a pregnant teen in 2007’s Juno told the crowd at the inaugural Time to THRIVE conference: '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. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.'
'I also do it selfishly, because I am tired of hiding and I am tired of lying by omission,' she continued. 'I suffered for years because I was scared to be out. My spirit suffered, my mental health suffered and my relationships suffered. And I'm standing here today, with all you, on the other side of that pain.'
Page admitted the standards and expectations Hollywood places on actresses made it difficult for her to come out, saying: 'It’s weird because here I am, an actress, representing—at least in some sense—an industry that places crushing standards on all of us. Not just young people, but everyone. Standards of beauty. Of a good life. Of success. Standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me. You have ideas planted in your head, thoughts you never had before, that tell you how you have to act, how you have to dress and who you have to be. I have been trying to push back, to be authentic, to follow my heart, but it can be hard.”'
She said Orange Is The New Black actress Laverne Cox and American footballer Michael Sam inspired her with their courage to come out, as well as openly gay musicians Tegan & Sara.
Human Rights Campaign, which organises the conference, published Page's full speech on its Tumblr and you can watch Ellen's speech in full here:
Picture: Human Rights Campaign
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.