Elliot Page Says Coming Out as Transgender Made Him Wonder 'Why Was This So Hard?'

Page opens up to Oprah Winfrey about coming out as transgender and going public with his top surgery.

Elliot Page feels free in his own skin. The 34-year-old Umbrella Academy actor came out as transgender in a social media post in December and has enjoyed living his truth ever since. 

"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!" he explains in a sneak peek clip obtained by CBS This Morning for Apple TV+'s The Oprah Conversation. "And a part of me was like, oh my god, why was that so hard? Why?" 

Page credits "society" with making his transition and coming out so challenging. 

"You and I talked about this on the Zoom, just sort of this newfound energy because it is such a freeing, freeing experience," Page tells Oprah Winfrey of how he's felt since the transition. 

Page also opens up about his decision to undergo top surgery, which is the surgical procedure to remove breast tissue, according to the Mayo Clinic

"I have been driving my friends crazy, sending them profile photos of me post having top surgery and how different I felt after that and all the space," he jokingly shares. 

In another sneak peek clip via People, Page discusses going public with his decision to undergo top surgery. Not all transgender men choose to undergo this procedure and many cannot afford it. 

"I wanted to talk about it for a couple of reasons," he says in the clip. "I wanted to share with people just how much it has changed my life. And I want people to know that not only has it been life-changing for me, I do believe it is life-saving and it's the case for so many people."

He believes it is part of a larger conversation surrounding trans healthcare. 

"[I also wanted to share it] because there is such an attack on trans healthcare right now, when already there is such a lack of access or trans people who don't even want to go to the doctor," he says. 

On CBS This Morning, longtime Winfrey pal and collaborator Gayle King revealed that the famed interviewer conducted a "pre-interview" with Page to see which topics he was comfortable discussing, which King says Winfrey "never does." 

The Oprah Conversation with Elliot Page airs Friday on Apple TV+. 

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