Elliot Page admits he regrets homophobic joke he made in Juno

It's been almost two decades since we were all rushing to the cinema to watch Juno for the first time, but its managed to stand the test of time and is still beloved by film fans.

A lot has changed though in the 17 years that have passed since the coming-of-age comedy was released, in terms of both the cast members and film culture on the whole.

Take Elliot Page for example, who starred as the up the duff teenager Juno MacGuff when he was just 20-years-old.

The Oscar-nominated actor has set up his own production company, featured in a slew of films and series, announced he was transgender and has even dabbled in the music industry - so there's been a lot of water under the bridge.

Page - who uses he/they pronouns - has really come into his own since 2007.

Despite all of his achievements since, a lot of people still remember him for his incredible performance in Juno - but there is one aspect of his role that he'd rather people forget.

In the box office hit, starring Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney and JK Simmons, the youngster ends up falling pregnant after having sex with her pal Paulie Bleeker (Cera).

The couple decide to put their unborn child up for adoption and cross paths with Mark and Vanessa Loring (Bateman and Garner) who are desperate to have a kid.

Juno isn't too keen on the high-strung Vanessa and instead ends up growing close to the more chilled out Mark, who she bonds with over their shared passion for music.

In one scene, the duo are discussing potential names for the baby when he informs her that his other half 'likes Madison'.

An evidently unimpressed Juno then sits up and says: "Madison? Wait, hold on...Isn't that like a little, gay?"

Ten years after the film's release, Page reflected on the Juno joke during an interview with Bustle in 2017 and admitted that he regrets saying it.

The Umbrella Academy star explained: "It wasn’t something I totally registered at the time, but, of course, now that I’m older I do.

"So many movies I loved as a kid are just rampant with homophobia and transphobia and biphobia, and I’m not excusing it by any means."

Page went on to say he wanted to see 'more representation' in Hollywood, as well as adding that he had refused to recite the problematic joke during a table read of the film's script for Planned Parenthood.

The Canadian has also discussed his Juno experiences in his 2023 memoir Pageboy, where he revealed that he and co-star Olivia Thirlby, who portrayed Juno's best pal Leah, 'had sex all the time' while shooting the film.

He also opened up about his complex feelings regarding the fact that the female role had catapulted him to a new level of fame, which left him feeling 'boxed in'.