The actor Ellen Page has accused the embattled film-maker Brett Ratner of "homophobic and abusive behavior", alleging that he outed her as gay and made a sexual remark about her when she was 18 years old .
Page, a high-profile gay actor known for the films Juno and Inception, accused Ratner of encouraging another woman to have sex with her, saying: "You should fuck her to make her she's gay" during the making of X -Men: The Last Stand.
The allegation by Page who said she was not out of the closet when Ratner made the remark, is the latest in a series of sexual misconduct accusations against the film-maker. The X-Men director was recently accused of harassment, assault and rape and has denied the allegations. He filed a libel suit against a former talent agency employee who wrote on Facebook that Ratner had forced himself on her.
Page, who came out as gay in a 2014 speech and has since become a vocal advocate for LGBT rights, published a longy Facebook post about Ratner and sexual misconduct in Hollywood on Friday.
She said Ratner had made the comment about her being gay during a cast and crew "meet and greet" before filming started: "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 ... This man, who had cast me in the movie, started his 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. "
The actor Anna Paquin, one of the X-Men stars, backed Page's account on Friday, tweeting, "I was there when that comment was made. I stand with you. "
Anna Paquin
(@ AnnaPaquin)
I was there when that comment was made. I stand with you. @EllenPage https://t.co/DEIvKDXeEL
Page, who started acting at the age of 10, said the alleged commentary has a long-term effect on her: "This public, aggressive outing left me with long standing feelings of shame, one of the most destructive results of homophobia ... Ratner's comment replayed in my mind many times over the years as I encountered homophobia and coped with the feelings of reluctance and uncertainty about the industry and my future in it. "
Allegations against the movie producer Harvey Weinstein .
After the Los Angeles Times first accusations of sexual misconduct from six actors, including Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn, Ratner's attorney Martin Singer said: "I have represented Mr. Ratner for two decades, and no woman has ever made a claim against him for sexual misconduct or sexual harassment ... Furthermore, no woman has ever requested or received any financial settlement from my client. "
Ratner's attorney did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian about Page's allegation.
Ratner is a prolific producer and director of a number of major films in recent years, including The Revenant, Jersey Boys and the Horrible Bosses series.
In Page's Facebook post, which runs the unknown director of "fondled" her leg under a table when he takes her to dinner at the age of 16, telling her: "You have to make the move , I can not. "I continued:" 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. "
She further said that acting in a Woody Allen movie was "the biggest regret of my career", writing, "I am ashamed I did this. I am now and felt pressured, because 'of course you have to say yes to this Woody Allen movie'. "
Page also speak of her privileges as a white lesbian and called for people to support other survivors of violence who are more marginalized than she was.
"Let's remember the epidemic of violence against women in our society disproportionately affects low income women, women of 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. "
Contact the author: sam.levin@theguardian.com
