Ellen Page, who will be reprising her role as Kitty Pryde in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past appeared at the Human Rights Campaign's 'Time to Thrive' event in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday.
The actress, who originaly appeared as Kitty in the third X-Men film ('The Last Stand', directed by Brett Ratner in 2006) has also appeared in notable thrillers such as The East, Inception and the critically-acclaimed Hard Candy. She is also providing the voice for computer-game Beyond Two Souls after expressing her displeasure of last year's gaming hit The Last of Us using a heroine that looked a lot like her in marketing promotions. (Impact, like many, presumed she'd been officially involved, but that was not the case).
She spoke to the crowds on Valentine's Day about a variety of issues, including the various pressures the film industry often puts on actors (particularly young actors) to fit stereotypes. Clearly emotional about the speech, she also explained that she felt it important to address the crowds and the LGBT community in the crowd as she wanted to reveal that she is, herself, gay and was tired of having to avoid mentioning it or 'lying by omission' when questioned about her personal and professional life.
In what has been seen largely as a brave and positive move, Page said she simply wanted to actively demonstrate that there shouldn't be any prejudice about sexuality in the twenty-first century and to show solidarirty with people who felt they were sometimes under enormous pressure to conform.
You can see the speech here. Impact wishes her the best...
