Elliot Page details 'traumatic' sexual incident allegedly suffered while filming Hard Candy

Content warning: this article contains descriptions of sexual assault which some may find upsetting.

Canadian actor Elliot Page has spoken out about a number of incidents of alleged sexual assault, one of which he reportedly experienced while working on the 2005 psychological thriller Hard Candy.

As The Guardian reports, Page (now 36) discussed the alleged incidents in his memoir, Pageboy. One of these reportedly took place when a man on the set of Hard Candy allegedly forced himself on Page after driving him home. “His voice sweet, his hands on my shoulders, he guided me to the bedroom,” Page wrote in his book. “I went stiff. Unsure what to do as he stood tall and removed his glasses. He laid me down on the bed.”

The unnamed man allegedly told the actor that he wanted to perform oral sex on him, and Page froze. “After it was over, he tried to stay in the bed with me. I had thawed marginally and told him he couldn’t, to get out,” Page wrote.

Another incident reportedly took place during the filming of another project, this time by a female crew member who’d apparently offered to take Page house-hunting. “I was standing in the empty living room, in front of the couch, when I felt her grab me. She pressed her face into mine, some version of kissing,” Page alleged. “That freezing coming over me again. The next thing I knew I was on the rug, the floor firm on my back. I didn’t say no, I did not resist, I just stiffened.”

Speaking to The Guardian, Page said that it took a “long time” to accept the impact that the alleged experiences had on him: “I didn’t know how to talk to people about it. I thought you just get over it and move on,” he explained. “It took me a long time to be able to sit and fully talk about these experiences or acknowledge that they were traumatic and had a significant impact on me.”

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, you can contact Rape Crisis England and Wales’ 24/7 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line for free on 0808 500 2222.