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1 year ago
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"In my day they really made that boy date a woman."
Now, the director of HSM, Kenny Ortega, did say in 2020 that Ryan's character was gay — and likely would have come out in college. "It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colors come forward," he said, adding that he "didn't think at the time" there could be an openly gay Disney Channel character.
Disney
In fact, Lucas Grabeel himself said that he asked Kenny during filming if Ryan was gay — which he confirmed. As such, Lucas said that he wasn't sure if he would take on the role if the movie were made now: "As a straight white man, I know that even without trying, I have taken opportunities away from other people."
Disney
Lucas added of the conversation with Kenny, "He was like, 'Well, I mean, it's a touchy subject sometimes with children's programming — I'm not sure if Disney is ready now for that kind of thing. I absolutely agree that he is and I think we have an opportunity here to showcase a real person.'"
Of course, none of this was in the main movies — Ryan took Kelsi to prom and there's a deleted scene where he asks her out in High School Musical 3.
Disney
Well, thanks to a sneak peak for an upcoming episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, we have onscreen confirmation that Ryan isn't straight.
Disney+ / Via Twitter: @hsmseries
In the clip, Ryan's partner shows up to support him, tells him that he loves him, and then the two share a kiss:
As such, Twitter (sorry, X) was taken by storm:
James Devaney/Getty Images / Disney / Via Twitter: @bklynb4by
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