Original X-Men trilogy star Anna Paquin is speaking out in support of her X-Men: The Last Stand co-star Ellen Page in regards to Page’s claims that director Brett Ratner sexually harassed her during the film’s production.
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Page claims that Ratner’s harassment began even before the cameras started rolling, with Ratner using homophobic slurs and outing Page, a gay woman, during a cast and crew meet and greet.
On Twitter, Paquin says that she was present when Ratner’s comments were made, and states that Page’s claims are “truth” and that she stands with Page.
I was there when that comment was made. I stand with you .@EllenPage https://t.co/DEIvKDXeEL
โ Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) November 10, 2017
#truth #IStandWithYou https://t.co/0Qi6bQ5Wyf
โ Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) November 10, 2017
Paquin went on to make an additional statement for anyone wondering why its taken so long for her to speak out about Ratner’s alleged behavior.
“If you can’t think of the glaringly obvious reason I remained silent then perhaps you’ve forgotten that I’ve been in this victim grooming industry since before I hit puberty,” Paquin Tweeted.
If you can’t think of the glaringly obvious reason I remained silent then perhaps you’ve forgotten that I’ve been in this victim grooming industry since before I hit puberty.
โ Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) November 10, 2017
Page’s account recalls the graphic comments that Ratner allegedly made.
“‘You should f*** her to make her realize she’s gay.’ He said this about me during a cast and crew ‘meet and greet’ before we began filming X-Men: The Last Stand,” Page wrote in a Facebook post. “I was eighteen years old. He looked at a woman standing next to me, ten years my senior, pointed to me and said: ‘You should f*** her to make her realize she’s gay.’ He was the film’s director, Brett Ratner.
“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. 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 out months of filming at a work event with this horrific, unchallenged plea. He ‘outed’ me with no regard to 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 p*****.’”
Page isn’t the first woman to come forward with complaints about Ratner’s behavior in recent weeks, which has led Warner Bros. to cut ties with the director.
Page was recently cast in Netflix’s adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics series The Umbrella Academy.