The Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Series” confirmed that one of the show’s cast members, who was also in the original movie, is gay.
During a sneak peek of the fourth and final season of the show, Ryan Evans, who is played by actor Lucas Grabeel, kisses Pentatonix’s singer Scott Hoying following a musical performance with a few of the cast members at their high school reunion.
Hoying proceeded to tell Grabeel’s character, “You look amazing! This is so cool!”
“This means so much to me that you are here,” Evans replied.
Then, Hoying planted a kiss on Evans and expressed his love for him.
It's time for the high school reunion we've all been waiting for… 😉 Here's a sneak peek of the opening number of #HSMTMTS, streaming August 9 on @DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/UUhsY1RXU5
— HSM: The Musical: The Series (@hsmseries) July 25, 2023
In a 2020 interview with Variety, Kenny Ortega, who directed the 2006 “High School Musical” film revealed whether he believed it would have been possible for Evans to be “openly gay” then.
“I have to be honest with you. I didn’t think at the time — and Disney is the most progressive group of people I’ve ever worked with,” Ortega said.
He explained he was “concerned” because Disney’s audience consisted of children and families and thought the network “might not be ready to cross that line and move into that territory yet.”
“So, I just took it upon myself to make choices that I felt that those who were watching would grab. They would see it, they would feel it, they would know it and they would identify with it,” he added, acknowledging “that is what happened.”
In an interview with TMZ in 2020, Grabeel shared he was unsure if he would have taken the role of Evans if the movie was made today so as to not take the opportunity away from gay actors.
“The last thing I want to do is take an opportunity away from other people. As a straight white man, I know that even without trying, I have taken opportunities away from other people,” he said.
