While presenting Tegan and Sara with the Humanitarian Award at the 2024 Juno Awards, Elliot Page slammed the “devastating” global attacks on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
Tegan and Sara were presented the award for their unrelenting advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community through their organization, The Tegan and Sara Foundation. Their foundation raises awareness and funds to fight for equality.
While presenting the award, Page said, “We are at a time in history where the rights of 2SLGBTQ+ people are being revoked, restricted and eliminated throughout the world, and the effects are devastating.”
After accepting the award, Sara said, “Receiving this recognition is meaningful but also a reflection of the complexities our community faces today. If the world was not so hostile to 2SLGBTQ+ people, we would see ourselves purely as musicians.”
“Advocating for our community’s rights is a great privilege and we are dedicated to confronting any form of discrimination that threatens the well-being of our community,” she added.
Sara specifically called out the Alberta government for attempting to limit trans healthcare. “…We are dedicated to confronting any form of discrimination that threatens the wellbeing of the community. Threats like the Alberta government’s attempting to prevent trans youth from accessing vital care,” she said.
Users on X praised Sara for publicly slamming the government’s agenda.
real talk: tegan and sara were hugely influential and important to me while i was a teen deep in the closet figuring it out. feeling so proud watching them win a humanitarian award for LGBTQ+ activism on the other side of it all #JUNOS
— ⚡️aimee pauls⚡️ (@aimee_pauls99) March 25, 2024
tegan and sara slamming the alberta government for their transphobic agenda live at the junos just added 10 years to my life
— KG 🤍 (@3kidneys_) March 25, 2024
tegan and sara for president tbh
— scar (@moonsofts) March 25, 2024
Page has previously spoken about how important it is for people to understand the experiences of trans people to spread awareness and compassion.
“For me, with my mom, I would send her stuff, articles which she read. So, in many ways, I think it’s about sharing the correct information, because there are endless, full-blown lies about our lives, our healthcare, just who we are,” he told PinkNews.
“That’s something I found really, really helpful: sharing the correct information to help educate people, whether it’s an article or a memoir by a trans person,” he added.
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