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Ellen Page plays a "primo lesbian" on SNLSo, did you see Ellen Page on Saturday Night Live?
More important, did you see her in that last skit? Page played a young woman named Marty whose life was forever changed by a Melissa Etheridge concert. Here it is: Yes, you heard that right: She did say, "Why does everything have to have a frickin' label? Why can't I just hug a woman with my legs in friendship?" Ha ha!
Around the interweb, the sketch is being seen as a response to all the gay rumors about Page. But whether or not it was really about Ellen herself, it was refreshing to see such a positive gay-themed skit on SNL. Its ultimate message seemed to be, "It's OK to be gay." And that's partly because Page really committed to it: She was goofy and hyper and not a bit shy about playing a gay character. It was funny, but not in the way gay things are usually funny on SNL — which is in a mocking, ridiculing, as-if-we-could-ever-be-gay way. It almost sounded sincere (hilariously sincere) when she said, "I just felt like I was an oil lamp that's never been lit. And now I'm finally burning bright with sisterfire."
I think we should adopt "And I was like, aaahhhhhhh!" as a catchphrase for lesbians everywhere. Other than that, though, Page was kind of an average host, at best. I don't think sketch comedy is really her thing. But I did enjoy her performance in the digital short, earlier in the episode: Isn't she adorable in her pajama pants and T-shirt? And I love her expression when she "scares" the ghost:
Her monologue was pretty funny too: Ellen Page, whether you're really gay, or you just like to hug women with your legs in friendship — or just play characters of all stripes — you're the best.
Submitted by on March 2, 2008 - 4:57pm. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
right on!
i have loved ellen page since seeing "hard candy" and i too, wondered if the skit was in response to all of the rumors...
ellen is talented, intelligent, and what i love most about her is her fuck-all attitude! if she were gay, it would just be icing...
I was waitin for someone to comment on this!
You're ON
just caught SNL throught the wonders of interweb and that last melissa etheridge skit just blew me away.
Gay or not, Ellen Page rocks!
If gay, awesome way to endorse it, if not, hilarious way to acknowledge a rumor and publicly demistify it ! (who said stereotype??...)
Way to go, girl!
please
"And I was like
No Ellen...
I didn't like the skit at all! Actually I think it was pretty bad. NOT original, NOT funny! Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls. Really? YAAAWWWN
The ending was weird, too. Are the writers on strike again?
I love Ellen Page, but that was hard to watch
i agree
i didn't really find it funny. i thought it seemed a bit sad. that to dispel the rumors she has to sort of set up this dichotomy between her awesomeness and the ridiculous crunchy stereotype of what lesbians are really like. i dunno. i would have thought she could have handled that better.
and my 'dar is still flashing red on that one.
I agree, I think it missed
I agree, I think it missed the mark of whatever it was trying to accomplish...
ellen page<33
someone needs to get you people a sense of humor.
stat.
i though the skit was really funny. clearly SNL and ellen page are making fun of the fact that people are judging her to be a lesbian based on ridiculous stereotypes.
Really?
I loved that sketch, you have to admit though somethings are pretty accurate. The crowd for instance- girls with cute short hair cuts and wearable art, that smelled good? I was at a gay conference this weekend, and for the 2 seconds I was listening I thought that we went to the same event!
That skit was such good fun, I didn't mind that they used old school lesbian references at all, it drove the point home to their audiences. Hey, if they used slightly more modern, more diverse references wouldn't it be too complicated for the straighties to find funny(lesbian101 as opposed to say, lesbian303) , or get that Marnie was ambigously showing signs of primo lesnianism?
!
"I think we should adopt "And I was like, aaahhhhhhh!" as a catchphrase for lesbians everywhere."
/agree
haha
lol
damn
I wish I could watch the clips you linked to, but all I get is PARTYPOKERADS :(
absolutely love n adore Ellen Page. she is one of a kind ;)
------------------------------------------------------
THE UNOFFICIAL JILL BENNETT FANCLUB WEBPAGE
http://www.freewebs.com/ujbfc
Try again
For the other clips, Megavideo has ads right on the player, but if you see ads, look for a play button between the ads and click that.
I’m mixed. At first I
I’m mixed. At first I thought, Ellen’s a savy girl. Best way to shut up the rumours, hit them back by taking the piss. Then with with Ellen D mentioning gay punch lines this week it kind turned the sketch a bit sour for me.
ahhh dear sweet ellen
Ellen!!!
She is sooo cute. I just hug her with my legs in friendship.
Love the skits! It was like Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!
I was like, ahhhhhhhh!
Wow, poker ad pop-up instead of video. That's SO not cool! :(
should be better now
Paging Ellen
I was hoping someone would write about the skit. I thought it was great, very funny and it was a definite response to a lot of the rumors.
Ellen is an Oscar nominee and most likely an Oscar winner in the future. While it is always nice to have positive role models for young gays and lesbians, I hope her sexuality is not a big issue for her in her life, whatever it might be.
EP
Gay or not, EP ROCKS. But even though my gaydar is almost non existent, she still pretty much set it off during that monologue. Loved the outfit she wore, I want that jacket so bad.
my 'dar went off in the monologue too
Well, I know that I certainly...
...wouldn't mind wrapping my legs around Ellen Paige in, errr...friendship.
But if she's straight...she's by far the most awesome straight girl ever.
...and all was well, and the world smiled.
agreed
yeah, what you said!
///atxxx///
I love Ellen Page she
I love Ellen Page she rocks!!
And I agree that she appears to be a great rolemodel for anyone whether she is les/bi/hetero
SNL
made me pretty happy last night. I agree that she was an average host. There were some skits that were better than others, of course. And the cameos were AWESOME. But that last skit was the highlight. It made me so unbelievably happy.
I still think Page is a pretty classy lady, no matter her sexuality.
I wanna hug her with my legs in friendship (hysterical!)
First off: the skit was obviously written in response to the lesbian rumours on the internet that happened after the Oscars. That's SNL signature, they take topical stuff and satire it.
Two: it was super clear she did not have a problem with playing a lesbian. Whether she is or isn't doesn't come into it. She's giving the finger to scumbags like Musto who want to make a big thing of it. The skit said: I don't give a rat's ass what you think!
Three: when all's said and done, she's probably a bi, and unlike her skit character, *not* an unlit lamp :)
Finally: watching this skit has made me realise that despite all the shit still going on (eg. the recent killing of the 15 year old gay boy), things have moved on. I don't think Jodie Foster could have got away with doing this when she was 21!
Really, Papi?
It's sad we're depending on current-SNL for representation but I guess if its good enough for Hillary...*sighs*...its just the whole are they laughing with us or at us? So yeah, I thought it was pretty half-assed and lame and if Ellen really is gay its kinda weird, not that she would play a lesbian character, but a really poorly drawn one, because I mean, I love Melissa Etheridge, but this isn't 1997 and the whole sketch was obviously a total straight person's concept of 'going gay'...I mean why wasn't it a Tegan and Sara concert? ;) And Melissa is married, Tammy's not her gf...and the ending made no sense
New millenium lesbians?
I appreciated the skit, though I did not think it was all that funny. I just adore Ellen Page and I thought she did great on SNL. The monologue was the best.
I don't see it as a 'straight person's concept of going gay' though. Ellen Degeneres, Melissa Etheridge, the Indigo Girls -- Those are out lesbian icons. Sure, they came out in the 90's but there haven't really been any other major female artists to come out since, have there?
So, what is a new millenium twist SNL could have played on this? I love Tegan and Sarah, but how many outside the Gay and Lesbian community, in the states, have heard of them?
_________
In my perfect world...
You know, I was thinking about this after I watched it; if she really wanted to come out, as either gay, straight, or bi, show support for the glbtq community, and not just play with the rumors, they could've had someone like Ellen D. make a cameo, I mean they have the same lesbian publicist, Kelly Bush, the one who was with Ellen P. at the Oscars! Now that would have been really awesome.
I don't know what another new millenium twist would be because like you said there are so few major out artists. But I think Tegan and Sara could have been a viable addition :) or maybe I'm just biased in my love for them that I can't fathom anyone who wouldn't know them lol.
And a 'primo lesbian' would definitely know Tegan and Sara, so if this was meant for a gay audience as well, then it would have been appropriate. If it was meant for straight people then Melissa, Ellen D. and the Indigo Girls would suffice. I mean, I LOVE them and their talent, music, etc. and the fact that they are mainstream and appeal to a lot of straight people as well doesn't diminish this, of course.
And like Liz Lemon says, you can't 'go gay' for just one person unless you're a lady and you meet Ellen!
Really?
First of all, Tegan and Sarah are not as widely known as a BAND, let alone gay icons ... so the joke would be wasted on obscurity, appealing to a comparitively small margin.
secondly, does it really matter if Ellen Page is gay or not? and let's just say for a moment she is, who cares if she's appealing to the GLBT community or not? She's a person. She's an artist. she's at the beginning of her career. What if she's not ready to tackle that? What if she's not prepared to be type-cast for the rest of her career? Who are you to judge?
thirdly, in an earlier post, you stated that you weren't sure if they were laughing with us or at us - don't you think it's a little ridiculous either way if we can't even laugh at ourselves? that's part of why I love The Big Gay Sketch Show so much ... they make fun of us all the time! The only difference is that half the cast is gay themselves. So does that make it OK? Look ... sad as this may be, most stereotypes are based in SOME form of truth ..... I think you need to go listen to Avenue Q on repeat for the next week or so.
Personally, I DON'T think they were laughing at us. I think it was making fun of the ridiculousness that Ellen Page is gay by association because of her damn publicist. The logic you've used in your previous posts leads to the conclusion that if she's NOT gay, she should go be with her own hetero kind? and if she is gay, she needs to join the bandwagon, pay her dues, and get her rainbow encoded in her cerebral cortex.
two words for you: Jodi Foster.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always our self we find in the sea
I never said I was a role model...
Tegan and Sara would be perfectly suited to any broadly defined demographic that also know who Ellen Page/Juno is...young, hot, Canadian, lol They've been featured extensively in Rolling Stone, Spin, Seventeen, etc...SNL's musical guest this coming week is Vampire Weekend, an admittedly more obscure indie band from NYC. Nope, I don't see any reason why Tegan and Sara wouldn't have been an equally valid reference.
And just to clarify, it does absolutely NOT matter if Ellen Page is gay, that is not my point. I think she is a talented actress and a cool person, whatever her sexuality. What matters is if she is OUT...a simple YES or NO would suffice, so that we could get past it and focus on her talent. That's all I'm saying for any of these celebrities. But they play off the rumors/speculation, so there you go...and its especially disheartening in the good ol' US of A...I still stand by that the sketch was lame and half-assed and ultimately pointless.
And do you, or have you ever worked in the entertainment industry? It is, and has been from its inception, one of the most visibly self-loathing, self-censoring industries in this country, with regards to any minority group, or 'subversiveness', including any representation of the glbtq community. If we've really come so far, why would she be 'type-cast'? Are you simultaneously acknowledging that repression is still the status quo, and that it is alright to just let it go unchallenged? Of course there's no right or wrong answer to this, but it bears further discussion.
Just because ...
Tegan & Sara are well known to a certain demographic, i.e. the Juno/Ellen Page demographic, not everyone who flips through Saturday Night TV reads Spin/Rolling Stone/or 17. Most people are NOT in the 13-25 demographic. and so again, I say ... The whole point of the joke would have been ruined. Melissa is an icon. T&S, while completely brilliant, still relatively obscure. And yes, I know who Vampire Weekend is, and yes they are even more obscure than T&S. Still doesn't mean T&S was the right way to go to make the sketch funnier.
I think you missed my initial point, that *if* she is gay - that doesn't mean she needs to be out. it's an individual's perogative ... if they don't want to be a banner carrier, then that's their choice. I think the fact that she's not answering with a yes and no is a much classier take than putting her life into black and white. Because the REAL answer should be, "WHO CARES?!" And THAT'S the joke SNL was trying to sell.....esp. with the last few lines at the end. I respect your opinion of the general sketch, I just don't think she needs to answer either way. And I really don't think she's the type to "play off the speculation." That's Paris Hilton bullshit. That's for people who want to keep in the lime-light.
Funny you should ask, but yes - I *am* in the entertainment industry. And I know how self-loathing and self-censoring it is. But it's usually not without cause. If any of US had to be in the public eye constantly, I would be surprised we weren't self-loathing and censoring too! That's a lot of pressure ... Your comment about the representation of the GLBTD community ... particularly since a weighty percentage of Hollywood is IN the community.
I'm not saying we've come far. I don't think we have. I was speaking about the reality of the situation. And I'm all for people blazing trails and causing a ruckus and changing the status quo ... but I only believe in that if it's a PERSONAL choice. that's what I'm saying. I know the repression is there. I know it's very real and palpable for those ON screen especially. But you can't force someone to challenge an institution if they DON'T want to. that's my point.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always our self we find in the sea
I hear ya! Thanks for
I hear ya! Thanks for this comment, you make a lot of sense, I think we're coming from the same place but with different results? I guess its just a matter of what IS their choice or not. I certainly think they choose to be in the public eye, whatever that means, and that means greater scrutiny, for better or worse. And they choose to work for studios/labels who support and practice institutionalized censorship; I'm not just talking about the performers themselves, but the system they participate in. But yeah, at the end of the day, you really can't force someone to make their personal life political, even if the government has already done it for us. And people certainly don't *like* being told they are oppressed simply by virtue of their membership in a specific social group. I call that self-loathing but obviously some people don't. But I think the only way to change that is if more public figures are simply honest. Live simply honestly so others can simply honestly live or some shit like that, lol, I think I just like to see myself type
Regardless...
... Of whether they're laughing at us or laughing with us, the sketch was pretty funny and way over the top. Even if it is a straight conception of coming out, it's satirising it.
I thought it was a great retaliation to all the rumours circulating atm =]
I still think...
I'm with you - the first
I'm with you - the first thing I thought when I saw the skit (other than HOLY COW!) was "Did Ellen Page just come out on SNL?"
I think maybe she's trying to put out the message that Hey, maybe she's gay, maybe she's not. But who cares? (Tegan and Sara take a similar stance, no?)
I know we'll all continue to speculate some because she's just so damn cute, and very talented and intelligent. But I like her openness and nonchalant attitude about things, including the fact that in the grand scheme of things it shouldn't really matter whether she's gay or not. :)
Yeah, but Tegan and Sara
Yeah, but Tegan and Sara are gay AND out...isn't that the whole point of this website, that "visibility matters"? I'm not trying to pick on you/her, but it obviously does matter otherwise they wouldn't have written a (what I think was half-assed) sketch even addressing it, ya know?
visibility only matters ...
to the individual. as a whole, we can't ask anyone else to pick up the flag and march before us. Ellen, Rosie, Jody, Melissa ...WHO EVER - they are people too. Ellen and Rosie and Melissa chose to come out. They have CHOSEN visibility. Jody (and I'm sure a few others) have not chosen to be visible ... I'm sure for a plethora of reasons! And shouldn't THAT be OK?
And as far as AE goes, I've always been under the impression that visibility matters in the fictional side of entertainment ... ie. characters in scripts. (I cite the PSA on the main page) Characters are not real people. they are works of fiction. and those works of fiction are often played by straight actors. Which really doesn't matter, because the message, the theme, the likeness gets out there. THAT'S what's important.
But people like Ellen Page, or Jody Foster, or whoever! Should be ALLOWED their annonymity. That's their decision. not yours, not mine, not the community's ... THEIRS.
I'm sure you wouldn't like the ownership of who you are to be taken away from you for the sake of a "community" ...........................
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always our self we find in the sea
Well Said
I think you nailed it. We can't force anyone out of the closet anymore than the general media for that matter. It's a personal choice to come out and we have start respecting the people who chose to live their private lives out of scrutiny and the public eye. As long as they aren't hypocrites than we should respect their wishes and just enjoy what they bring into the world.
As for Ellen Page, I thought the sketch was hilarious and definitely a response to the gay rumors. My roommate found it completely hysterical, especially the "leg hugs". He's the one that told me to watch it and I immediately turned to him and said "oh so this is her response to the gay rumors." He looked at me blankly, he had no idea that there were rumors about her being gay. I guess my point is for those who didn't hear about everything that's going around her, they still found the skit extremely funny.
She's adorable though and she's talented, that's all I care about. She seemed nervous during the show, but can't blame her. Even if SNL isn't what it used to be, it's still one of the biggest stages in America.
"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from."
Well, I know I sound like a
Well, I know I sound like a cynical bitch, but COME ON! This isn't directed at you, but the whole idea in general that it doesn't matter makes me so mad. This is America, Hollywood, land of the free, famous and closeted! How can you read an interview with JodIE Foster, where she discusses in detail the lives of her sons, who she is supposedly SO protective of, and then not be a little confused when she fails to mention their other parent. AT ALL. See, its this half-assed kind of thing that really bothers me, it seems fundamentally dishonest and deliberate. Either don't speak AT ALL on your private life (Kate Moennig comes to mind, props to her for not doing the Hollywood bullshitting) or don't subject us to this double-speak.
Hey ... I totally understand ...
Your point. I really do.
If it were me in the public eye, I'd like to think I'd be out and proud about my life. I can't know for sure, but I'd certainly like to be that brave. And yes. I think it is brave. I also understand your anger and cynicism. Goodness knows I've thought that too.
But I also get angry at the notion that celebrities should be out for the sake of ALL of us. You know? I would never ask anyone to put themselves out there for me. I can hope for courage, I can hope challenging the crappy institutions and damning the man. But I can't hope for someone to risk their happiness and livlihood just to better MY way as second class citizen.
I also understand what you mean about playing the rumors. Especially in regard to the sensationalism. I don't think that's what Ellen Page was doing.
But still ... keep fighting the good fight. I'm right there with you.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always our self we find in the sea
Even Better
Is she still doing it?
as far as I know
I heard she backed out of another movie due to scheduling conflicts. Yeh I think that Olivia chick was in Juno right? I loved Ellen in Hard Candy but I think that's the only other leading role I've seen her in.
"Liquor in the front, poker in the rear." Shane- L Word
Ellen My Love
i think that ellen looked especially cute in those pajama pants. i have had a huge crush on her when she was in x-men. i loved her when she was in hard candy and dont let me get started on Juno. gosh i wish she were lesbian if she is then come out already!!!!!! i did think her monologue was funny!!
Love And Let Love.
She made it seem it is okay
and i was like "ahhhhhhh!!"
when I saw that she had done this..
ELLEN PAGE just rocks!! and this made me love her even more... but now, I'm pretry sure she's not gay... she's like a Tina Fey
she's like a Tina Fey