During his acceptance of Outfest’s Achievement Award on Sunday (August 22) at the film festival’s closing night gala in Los Angeles, the actor explained the importance of representation in the media.
Elliot said that stumbling across films and television shows with LGBTQ+ storylines helped him through times of “shame and self-hatred” which were difficult to navigate. “I for one know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager — there was very little — I just don’t know if I would have made it,” he said during his acceptance speech. “I don’t know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and