Disney Channel Breaks Ground Wh First Gay Storyle – The Hollywood Reporter

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• THE RIGHT STUFF: SHOP THE WARDROBE SAVERS!OPEN MENUVIOSHOPCULTUREFAYWELLNSFOODLIVGSTYLETRAVELNEWSBOOK CLUBGMA3: WYNTKNEWSLETTERPRIVACY POLICYYOUR US STATE PRIVACY RIGHTSCHILDREN'S ONLE PRIVACY POLICYINTERT-BASED ADSTERMS OF USEDO NOT SELL MY INFOCONTACT USCOPYRIGHT © 2023 ABC NEWS INTER VENTUR. ALL RIGHTS RERVED.SEARCHCULTURE'ANDI MACK' MAK HISTORY WH FIRST DISNEY CHANNEL CHARACTER TO SAY 'I'M GAY'4:56'ANDI MACK' ST DISH ON NEW SEASON: 'IT MAK DIVERSY NORMAL'BYTONY MORRISONFEBARY 11, 2019, 5:06 PM•5 M READ"I'M GAY."JOSHUA RH, WHO PLAYS THE ROLE OF CYS THE H DISNEY CHANNEL SERI, "ANDI MACK," JT BEME THE FIRST DISNEY CHANNEL CHARACTER TO EVER SAY THOSE TWO WORDS. HIS PERFORMANCE AS CYS ALSO MARKS THE FIRST PORTRAYAL OF AN OPENLY GAY CHARACTER ON DISNEY CHANNEL.“TAKG ON THE ROLE OF CYS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST FUN THGS I'VE EVER DONE MY LIFE," RH TOLD "GMA." "BEG JEWISH, BEG 14, GOG TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, HAVG THIS SMALL, CLOSE-KN GROUP OF IENDS, AND BEG GAY ARE ALL JT PARTS OF HIS PERSONALY," HE AFFIRMED.THE REACTN TO HIS CHARACTER G OUT?"OVERWHELMGLY POSIVE," HE SAID, ADDG THAT "OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS I'VE REALLY GOTTEN TO SEE THE MYRIAD OF WAYS THAT BOTH THIS NEW G-OUT SCENE FOR CYS, AND THIS JEWISH REPRENTATN OF HIS FAY, HAS AFFECTED THE FANS."ASHER ANGEL, PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE, JOSHUA RH AND SOFIA WYLIE STAR THE DISNEY CHANNEL'S, "ANDI MACK."MCH HAASETH/DISNEY CHANNELIN THE MOVG SCENE THAT AIRED LAST WEEK, CYS IS JOED BY HIS IENDS AT HIS GRANDMOTHER'S SHIVA, THE FIRST WEEK OF MOURNG OBSERVED BY THOSE OF THE JEWISH FAH FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS PASSED AWAY. CYS FDS 'S THE RIGHT TIME FOR HIM TO E OUT TO HIS BT GUY IEND, JONAH, PLAYED BY ACTOR ASHER ANGEL.CHECK OUT THE PIECE OF DISNEY CHANNEL HISTORY FOR YOURSELF:CYS PREVLY ME OUT TO HIS IENDS ANDI AND BUFFY TWO SEPARATE PAST EPISOS OF THE SHOW, BUT HAS NEVER ACTUALLY SAID THE WORDS, "I'M GAY" UNTIL NOW.HERE'S ONE OF THOSE SCEN:"CYS HAS TGHT ME A LOT ABOUT BEG FORTABLE WH MYSELF NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS THK," RH TOLD "GMA." "I WAS BULLIED A LOT AT CYS’ AGE," HE SAID, "SO 'S SPIRG TO SEE HOW CYS KNOWS HE DON’T HAVE ALL FIGURED OUT YET, BUT HE ISN’T AAID TO ASK THE HARD QUTNS ABOUT WHO HE MIGHT BE AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR HIM."IN A TWEET, RH SAID "EVERY DAY IS A BLSG" TO BE PART OF THE SHOW "ANDI MACK." CALLG THE LATT VELOPMENT WH HIS CHARACTER CYS, "A TONE."JONATHAN HURWZ, WHO WROTE THIS EPISO OF "ANDI MACK," ENTLED "ONE A MYAN," SHARED A BLOG POST PUBLISHED BY GLAAD THAT HE WAS DRIVEN OM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO WRE THIS EPISO AND DO RIGHT "AS SOMEONE WHO’S JEWISH, HAS ALT WH LONG-TERM ANXIETY, AND HAS E OUT TO HIS IENDS AND FAY.""IN THE WRER’S ROOM, I SHARED A PERSONAL STORY ABOUT HOW NERVO I WAS TO E OUT TO A LLEGE IEND BACK 2010. WHILE GRABBG BURGERS ONE AFTERNOON, HE ASKED ME TO PASS THE KETCHUP, SO I HAND HIM THE BOTTLE WHILE MUMBLG THE WORDS, 'I’M GAY.,'" HURWZ WROTE. "HE LOOKED UP AT ME, SAID 'COOL,' THEN PROCEED TO PUT KETCHUP ON HIS BURGER AS IF I HADN’T JT REVEALED MY MOST PERSONAL, EPT TTH. I REMEMBER THKG: THAT’S ?! AFTER A TEN-YEAR JOURNEY TO E OUT TO MYSELF, I FALLY E OUT TO MY IEND AND ALL I GET IS A 'COOL?!' BUT WHAT I ULTIMATELY REALIZED WAS THAT MY IENDS AND FAY LOVED ME UNNDNALLY BEFORE I’D EVEN LEARNED TO TLY LOVE MYSELF."HURWZ WROTE THAT HE ED HIS EXPERIENCE TO CRAFT CYS' G OUT STORYLE TO JONAH."IN SPE OF CYS' NERV ABOUT TELLG BUFFY, ANDI, AND NOW JONAH, HE NTUALLY UNRTIMAT HOW MUCH PEOPLE ACCEPT HIM FOR WHO HE IS," HE WROTE. "NO MATTER HOW 'WEIRD' OR 'DIFFERENT' HE FEELS (HIS WORDS OM SEASON ONE), HIS IENDS WILL ALWAYS BE RIGHT BY HIS SI, LOVG AND SUPPORTG HIM."SOFIA WYLIE, PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE, JOSHUA RH AND ASHER ANGEL STAR THE DISNEY CHANNEL'S, "ANDI MACK."FRED HAY/DISNEY CHANNELFOR MANY, THE PROCS OF G OUT IS AS TERRIFYG AS IS EXHILARATG. THAT PROCS IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE, AND IS SOMETIM MET BY REJECTN AND EVEN VLENCE. ACRDG TO BROCK DUMVILLE, M.P.H. AND SENR CRISIS SERVIC MANAGER FOR THE TREVOR PROJECT, "THE BT WAY TO SUPPORT YOUR IEND WOULD BE TO CELEBRATE THEM FOR MAKG CHOIC THAT FEEL HEALTHY FOR THEM, CLUDG IF THAT IS CHOOSG NOT TO E OUT."THE TREVOR PROJECT IS A NATNAL ANIZATN PROVIDG CRISIS TERVENTN FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH UNR 25. VIS THE TREVOR PROJECT'S "COMG OUT AS YOU" ROURCE PAGE FOR MORE."ANDI MACK" AIRS FRIDAY NIGHTS AT 8/7C ON THE DISNEY CHANNEL.DISNEY IS THE PARENT PANY OF ABC NEWS AND "GOOD MORNG AMERI."UP NEXT CULTURE—LE COMBS AND WIFE NILE WELE BABY NO. 2SEPTEMBER 1, 2023U.S. OPEN 2023: BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA, MIKE TYSON, ANNA WTOUR AMONG CELEBRY ATTENSEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: DENZEL WASHGTON BRGS HUMANY AND DRAMATIC FORCE TO 'THE EQUALIZER 3'SEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: 'THE GOOD MOTHER' BUILDS MOMENTUM THAT NEVER LANDSSEPTEMBER 1, 2023UP NEXT CULTURE—LE COMBS AND WIFE NILE WELE BABY NO. 2SEPTEMBER 1, 2023U.S. OPEN 2023: BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA, MIKE TYSON, ANNA WTOUR AMONG CELEBRY ATTENSEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: DENZEL WASHGTON BRGS HUMANY AND DRAMATIC FORCE TO 'THE EQUALIZER 3'SEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: 'THE GOOD MOTHER' BUILDS MOMENTUM THAT NEVER LANDSSEPTEMBER 1, 2023
• DISNEY CHANNEL BREAKS GROUND WH FIRST GAY STORYLE

THE RIGHT STUFF: SHOP THE WARDROBE SAVERS!OPEN MENUVIOSHOPCULTUREFAYWELLNSFOODLIVGSTYLETRAVELNEWSBOOK CLUBGMA3: WYNTKNEWSLETTERPRIVACY POLICYYOUR US STATE PRIVACY RIGHTSCHILDREN'S ONLE PRIVACY POLICYINTERT-BASED ADSTERMS OF USEDO NOT SELL MY INFOCONTACT USCOPYRIGHT © 2023 ABC NEWS INTER VENTUR. ALL RIGHTS RERVED.SEARCHCULTURE'ANDI MACK' MAK HISTORY WH FIRST DISNEY CHANNEL CHARACTER TO SAY 'I'M GAY'4:56'ANDI MACK' ST DISH ON NEW SEASON: 'IT MAK DIVERSY NORMAL'BYTONY MORRISONFEBARY 11, 2019, 5:06 PM•5 M READ"I'M GAY."JOSHUA RH, WHO PLAYS THE ROLE OF CYS THE H DISNEY CHANNEL SERI, "ANDI MACK," JT BEME THE FIRST DISNEY CHANNEL CHARACTER TO EVER SAY THOSE TWO WORDS. HIS PERFORMANCE AS CYS ALSO MARKS THE FIRST PORTRAYAL OF AN OPENLY GAY CHARACTER ON DISNEY CHANNEL.“TAKG ON THE ROLE OF CYS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST FUN THGS I'VE EVER DONE MY LIFE," RH TOLD "GMA." "BEG JEWISH, BEG 14, GOG TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, HAVG THIS SMALL, CLOSE-KN GROUP OF IENDS, AND BEG GAY ARE ALL JT PARTS OF HIS PERSONALY," HE AFFIRMED.THE REACTN TO HIS CHARACTER G OUT?"OVERWHELMGLY POSIVE," HE SAID, ADDG THAT "OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS I'VE REALLY GOTTEN TO SEE THE MYRIAD OF WAYS THAT BOTH THIS NEW G-OUT SCENE FOR CYS, AND THIS JEWISH REPRENTATN OF HIS FAY, HAS AFFECTED THE FANS."ASHER ANGEL, PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE, JOSHUA RH AND SOFIA WYLIE STAR THE DISNEY CHANNEL'S, "ANDI MACK."MCH HAASETH/DISNEY CHANNELIN THE MOVG SCENE THAT AIRED LAST WEEK, CYS IS JOED BY HIS IENDS AT HIS GRANDMOTHER'S SHIVA, THE FIRST WEEK OF MOURNG OBSERVED BY THOSE OF THE JEWISH FAH FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS PASSED AWAY. CYS FDS 'S THE RIGHT TIME FOR HIM TO E OUT TO HIS BT GUY IEND, JONAH, PLAYED BY ACTOR ASHER ANGEL.CHECK OUT THE PIECE OF DISNEY CHANNEL HISTORY FOR YOURSELF:CYS PREVLY ME OUT TO HIS IENDS ANDI AND BUFFY TWO SEPARATE PAST EPISOS OF THE SHOW, BUT HAS NEVER ACTUALLY SAID THE WORDS, "I'M GAY" UNTIL NOW.HERE'S ONE OF THOSE SCEN:"CYS HAS TGHT ME A LOT ABOUT BEG FORTABLE WH MYSELF NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS THK," RH TOLD "GMA." "I WAS BULLIED A LOT AT CYS’ AGE," HE SAID, "SO 'S SPIRG TO SEE HOW CYS KNOWS HE DON’T HAVE ALL FIGURED OUT YET, BUT HE ISN’T AAID TO ASK THE HARD QUTNS ABOUT WHO HE MIGHT BE AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR HIM."IN A TWEET, RH SAID "EVERY DAY IS A BLSG" TO BE PART OF THE SHOW "ANDI MACK." CALLG THE LATT VELOPMENT WH HIS CHARACTER CYS, "A TONE."JONATHAN HURWZ, WHO WROTE THIS EPISO OF "ANDI MACK," ENTLED "ONE A MYAN," SHARED A BLOG POST PUBLISHED BY GLAAD THAT HE WAS DRIVEN OM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO WRE THIS EPISO AND DO RIGHT "AS SOMEONE WHO’S JEWISH, HAS ALT WH LONG-TERM ANXIETY, AND HAS E OUT TO HIS IENDS AND FAY.""IN THE WRER’S ROOM, I SHARED A PERSONAL STORY ABOUT HOW NERVO I WAS TO E OUT TO A LLEGE IEND BACK 2010. WHILE GRABBG BURGERS ONE AFTERNOON, HE ASKED ME TO PASS THE KETCHUP, SO I HAND HIM THE BOTTLE WHILE MUMBLG THE WORDS, 'I’M GAY.,'" HURWZ WROTE. "HE LOOKED UP AT ME, SAID 'COOL,' THEN PROCEED TO PUT KETCHUP ON HIS BURGER AS IF I HADN’T JT REVEALED MY MOST PERSONAL, EPT TTH. I REMEMBER THKG: THAT’S ?! AFTER A TEN-YEAR JOURNEY TO E OUT TO MYSELF, I FALLY E OUT TO MY IEND AND ALL I GET IS A 'COOL?!' BUT WHAT I ULTIMATELY REALIZED WAS THAT MY IENDS AND FAY LOVED ME UNNDNALLY BEFORE I’D EVEN LEARNED TO TLY LOVE MYSELF."HURWZ WROTE THAT HE ED HIS EXPERIENCE TO CRAFT CYS' G OUT STORYLE TO JONAH."IN SPE OF CYS' NERV ABOUT TELLG BUFFY, ANDI, AND NOW JONAH, HE NTUALLY UNRTIMAT HOW MUCH PEOPLE ACCEPT HIM FOR WHO HE IS," HE WROTE. "NO MATTER HOW 'WEIRD' OR 'DIFFERENT' HE FEELS (HIS WORDS OM SEASON ONE), HIS IENDS WILL ALWAYS BE RIGHT BY HIS SI, LOVG AND SUPPORTG HIM."SOFIA WYLIE, PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE, JOSHUA RH AND ASHER ANGEL STAR THE DISNEY CHANNEL'S, "ANDI MACK."FRED HAY/DISNEY CHANNELFOR MANY, THE PROCS OF G OUT IS AS TERRIFYG AS IS EXHILARATG. THAT PROCS IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE, AND IS SOMETIM MET BY REJECTN AND EVEN VLENCE. ACRDG TO BROCK DUMVILLE, M.P.H. AND SENR CRISIS SERVIC MANAGER FOR THE TREVOR PROJECT, "THE BT WAY TO SUPPORT YOUR IEND WOULD BE TO CELEBRATE THEM FOR MAKG CHOIC THAT FEEL HEALTHY FOR THEM, CLUDG IF THAT IS CHOOSG NOT TO E OUT."THE TREVOR PROJECT IS A NATNAL ANIZATN PROVIDG CRISIS TERVENTN FOR LGBTQ+ YOUTH UNR 25. VIS THE TREVOR PROJECT'S "COMG OUT AS YOU" ROURCE PAGE FOR MORE."ANDI MACK" AIRS FRIDAY NIGHTS AT 8/7C ON THE DISNEY CHANNEL.DISNEY IS THE PARENT PANY OF ABC NEWS AND "GOOD MORNG AMERI."UP NEXT CULTURE—LE COMBS AND WIFE NILE WELE BABY NO. 2SEPTEMBER 1, 2023U.S. OPEN 2023: BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA, MIKE TYSON, ANNA WTOUR AMONG CELEBRY ATTENSEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: DENZEL WASHGTON BRGS HUMANY AND DRAMATIC FORCE TO 'THE EQUALIZER 3'SEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: 'THE GOOD MOTHER' BUILDS MOMENTUM THAT NEVER LANDSSEPTEMBER 1, 2023UP NEXT CULTURE—LE COMBS AND WIFE NILE WELE BABY NO. 2SEPTEMBER 1, 2023U.S. OPEN 2023: BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA, MIKE TYSON, ANNA WTOUR AMONG CELEBRY ATTENSEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: DENZEL WASHGTON BRGS HUMANY AND DRAMATIC FORCE TO 'THE EQUALIZER 3'SEPTEMBER 1, 2023REVIEW: 'THE GOOD MOTHER' BUILDS MOMENTUM THAT NEVER LANDSSEPTEMBER 1, 2023

Vel Sartha (Faye Marsay) and Cta Kaz (Varada Sethu) Andor, (Image cred: Disney Pl)Jungle CiseJungle Cise was so, so, so close to almost havg a character say the words "I'm gay" on screen. (Image cred: Disney+)CellaSure, we might have roasted Disney a ty b our Cella review for once aga pattg themselv on the back for their "first" out gay character (for the seventh time) and not even havg the cency to do anythg beyond an implic gay scriptn.

While this character is fun and entertag to watch, some might argue that this is a fairly cliche terpretatn of what gay men are actually like. Bex puts a ser damper on Andi and her iends' fun which tak a toll on her first year as a Goodman, one of Andi's bt iends, ma history as the first Disney character to ever say the words "I'm gay, " out loud on televisn.

Updated on June 7th, 2022 by Danielle Bnti: In the wake of Florida's extremely ntroversial "Don't Say Gay" bill and the strong cricism that me om wh The Walt Disney Company for not speakg up, seems like Disney is fally unrstandg out important LGBTQ+ reprentatn is for s fans and s st members. Artie Cella is an openly gay character who teracts wh the ma character throughout the new movie that foc on Cella Vil om 101 Dalmatians.

DISNEY CHANNEL BREAKS GROUND WH FIRST GAY STORYLE

Artie is able to be his thentic self and actor John McCrea is happy wh his portrayal of Artie and believ him to be a gay character, but Disney yet aga ma the mistake of not fully lvg to Artie beg an openly gay character.

Orka and Flix Star Wars Ristance are two openly gay characters who aren't human and are actually two different speci but are openly a relatnship the seri. Jungle Cise hasn't technilly been released yet, but Disney has been clear that one of the major characters the movie, McGregor Houghton, will be gay. Certa groups are upset at the ia of a children's movie reprentg the LGBTQ+ muny while progrsiv are upset at Jack Whehall's stg, believg a gay actor should be st, and the ia that might be a stereotypil, harmful reprentatn.

Before the live-actn versn of Bety and the Beast me out 2017, director Bill Condon announced an terview that one character would have a gay sp. The show's creator and executive producer Terri Msky said that Cys and his story were largely spired by Terri's dghter's iends, who knew that they were gay middle school. Pixar jt released a new short, aptly tled Out, that foc on a young man named Greg who has a secret: he's gay, and he has a boyiend named Manuel.