Oprah Winfrey might be the expert at interviewing people since the ‘80s, however, the seasoned journalist can still get nervous. In her recent interview on Oprah Daily, she admitted that she was more nervous for her interview with transgender actor, Elliot Page.
Elliot had joined Oprah as a guest for her show, The Oprah Conversation last month. This marked his first on-camera interview since he came out as transgender last December. The journalist shared that she had to do a lot of homework before the interview. She revealed that she asked for the help of Nick Adams, GLAAD’s director of transgender representation.
“I was more nervous about this interview than anything. I wanted to get it right,” Oprah told Adams in a Zoom call following the interview. Nick went on to focus on how important it is to prioritize Elliot’s gender identity over his biology at birth. “So if you say, ‘Elliot Page was born a girl,’ for example, it’s like prioritizing that biology over gender identity when in fact, gender identity is the agency,” Adams explained. “It is the subject. It is who you are.”
In Elliot’s interview with Oprah, he opened up about his transition and why he blames “society” for making the process so challenging. He explained the “interesting dichotomy” that it was. The Umbrella Academy actor shared how it feels like an amazing thing and is also him questioning why was that so hard.
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Elliot On His Experience Since The Transition
He said, “It’s this interesting dichotomy in a way where on some level it feels just like the most miraculous, amazing thing, and it also is just sort of the experience of, oh, there I am! Like, oh, there I am! And a part of me was like, oh my god, why was that so hard? Why?”
Elliot further added that he and Oprah talked about this in Zoom and described it as this newfound energy because it is a freeing experience. He was talking about how he has felt since the transition. The actor further shared the stress of deep responsibility that he feels to share his truth. Page says especially during a time where trans people, specifically trans women of color are being attacked in the fight for their rights.
The actor further appreciated the people who have put their lives on the line throughout history. He shared he has the privilege and the ability to be here is because of trans women of color. The Umbrella Academy alum said, “So much of the privilege I have, the ability to be here, sitting here right now, is really because of so many trans women of color who have consistently put their lives on the line throughout history when we think of Marsha P. Johnson or Miss Major.”
Elliot further expressed his gratitude to have access to the resources he has had because he does not know what would happen if he did not have those. The Oprah Conversation with Elliot Page is streaming now on Apple TV+.
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