Ellen Page Shares Upsetting Story About Director Brett Ratner, Who's Been Accused Of Sexual Misconduct
Ellen Page just weighed in on Hollywood's sexual harassment problem, and she has a lot to say.
Page wrote in a Facebook post that before filming X-Men: The Last Stand, which Brett Ratner directed, Ratner made an inappropriate comment to her on the movie's set.
The actress claims that Ratner told another woman, "You should fuck her to make her realize she's gay." Page notes that at the time, she was 18 years old, before she came out publicly.
"I was a young adult who had not yet come out to myself. I knew I was gay, but did not know, so to speak. I felt violated when this happened," Page wrote in the Facebook post. "I looked down at my feet, didn't say a word, and watched as no one else did either. This man, who had cast me in the film, started our months of filming at a work event with this horrific, unchallenged plea. He 'outed' me with no regard for my well-being, an act we all recognize as homophobic. I proceeded to watch him on set say degrading things to women. I remember a woman walking by the monitor as he made a comment about her 'flappy pussy.'"
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Page also wrote that Ratner's comments "left me with long standing feelings of shame, one of the most destructive results of homophobia." She also says that Ratner once asked her to wear a shirt that said "Team Ratner," and she refused, telling the director, "I am not on your team."
The Flatliners star also wrote that when she was 16, she went to a professional dinner with an unnamed director who "fondled my leg under the table" and asked her "to make the move."
"It was a painful realization: my safety was not guaranteed at work. An adult authority figure for whom I worked intended to exploit me, physically," Page wrote. "I was sexually assaulted by a grip months later. I was asked by a director to sleep with a man in his late twenties and to tell them about it. I did not. This is just what happened during my sixteenth year, a teenager in the entertainment industry."
The Facebook post comes after six women, including actress Olivia Munn, accused Ratner of sexual harassment or misconduct in interviews with The Los Angeles Times. Ratner has sued one of the accusers, Melanie Kohler, who claims that Ratner raped her more than a decade ago. Unreal creator Marti Noxon has also weighed in about Ratner, tweeting, "No Brett. The problem is you" in a series of tweets about the allegations.
Page noted that sexual harassment extends far beyond Hollywood, too. She also recognised her privilege, in that she can hire a security team to protect her.
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"Let's remember the epidemic of violence against women in our society disproportionately affects low income women, particularly women of color, trans and queer women and indigenous women, who are silenced by their economic circumstances and profound mistrust of a justice system that acquits the guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence and continues to oppress people of color," Page wrote.
Page also called working with Woody Allen "the biggest regret of my career."
"I did a Woody Allen movie and it is the biggest regret of my career. I am ashamed I did this," she wrote. "I had yet to find my voice and was not who I am now and felt pressured, because 'of course you have to say yes to this Woody Allen film.' Ultimately, however, it is my choice what films I decide to do and I made the wrong choice. I made an awful mistake."
The actress ended her Facebook post by praising the survivors who are "breaking the silence" by speaking out. Page's rep declined to comment further on this story.
If you have experienced sexual violence of any kind, please visit Rape Crisis or call 0808 802 9999.
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