Lucas Grabeel Says He Wouldn’t Play Gay “High School Musical” Character Now: “Wouldn’t Want To Take Away From Gay Acto

Uh....ok...but if Lucas isn’t gay, then who was the vanilla twink I was banging between HSM dance rehearsals in 2007?

The best thing Colton did was to leave Camp Podwall.

Stop this shit. It's called acting, not reality.

So no closeted gay actor can play straight?

The only roles anyone can play is straight male actor looking for a job. Or black lesbian actress out of work.

For fuck sake. It's called acting.

Down with erasure, r3!

Please. This bitch pings more than a downed jetliner's black box.

Lesbian?

R3 No you fucking idiot. He’s admitting the reality that openly gay actors have a difficult time getting cast in straight roles due to preconceived notions that a gay person won’t be believed as straight, so let gay actors at least have gay roles. I for one applaud him for this. Yes, WE know it’s called acting, but explain that to casting directors.

Has Eric McCormack spoken yet?

Maybe Deb Messing will speak for him.

I agree with him - because he's too ugly to play gay.

Colto.

[quote] Down with erasure, R3!

Fuck you.

Someone should ask him if, given a do-over, he’d once again take the role of Danny Nicoletta in Gus Van Sant’s MILK, I.e. one of the most gay biopic roles in existence. That answer would tell us what he is getting at.

R12 I misread that as Danny Noriega LOL.

A quick Google reveals: Lucas was an enthusiastic highschool chorister; he admits a close relationship with his mother; his favourite film is SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, and his boyhood dream was to be a dancer; he spent almost a decade living with a male photographer ‘roommate’ in a tiny flat; he has been engaged to his wannabe actress girlfriend for five years.

But he’s not gay.

This is one of the stupidest things ever.

First, the character was not gay, not openly not closeted. It's a coded gay which is something from a totally different era.

We knew that Disney has alergy to create gay characters for their shows. Yes, they are all for lgbt rights and all that jazz but in the moment of truth they let a gay character spend three seasons only to grab the hands of his boyfriend in Andi Mack. And they chicken out at release the very tame (but charming) love, Victor, they didn't promote it and skipped the release to Hulu (only to surprisingly being a big hit).

HSM can be gay friendly, but there's nothing really gay on it.

It's extremely ridiculous claiming you let a role to be played for gay actors when the truth is most gay actors are not out when they play teen roles.

The whole "only gay actors can play gay roles" is incredibly stupid and goes against what's acting, but on some level i can understand it, because the truth being openly gay is a burden for an actor to get straight roles but at the same time HW prefers to cast straights on gay roles too. So a little pressure can help at least for some gay actors get those roles (or at least half of them).

The truth is there's a lot of miscasts on gay roles. There are actors who feel the need to mention their girlfriend in every answer of every interview, and there are some who are clearly uncomfortable playing the role (which makes them look really stupid for getting the role, but even more stupid is the one who chose them)

This shit really annoys me. Are they saying only gay actors can play gay characters and only vice versa? What about villains and psychopaths? Should Anthony Hopkins apologise that he didn’t allow an actual cannibal to play Hannibal Lector? Where do you draw the line.

R16

Hard to believe you’re gay. Openly gay actors are being fucked over. They aren’t allowed to do much in Hollywood. How many times do we have to go through this? Openly gay actors have come out and told the truth. But you don’t want to listen. Straight man worshipper.

He's saying it after the fact to make him look woke. He and everybody else knows that if he were offered the role today, he would jump on it.

R17 They are fucked on the film industry, on tv and theatre not so much.

And one thing is saying that HW should cast more openly gay actors on gay roles (something everybody should agree) and other very different to say that only gay actors can play gay roles

[Quote] there's nothing really gay on it.

Have you not seen Zac Efron's "Bet on It" number?

[Quote] very different to say that only gay actors can play gay roles

It's basically affirmative action. I don't see how why gay people would be against this, at least in the short term. It's not an even playing field for out actors.

Please. The character was never supposed to be gay. They just cast a flaming nelly bottom to play him, so naturally everyone wondered.

I don't get the point in him staying closeted for this long. It'd make sense if he was getting roles but he hasn't had an acting gig since his Disney days and he's starting to get fat and old. Why does he still refuse to be open about his sexuality?

Hollywood needs to change. Actors should not be forced into the closet. Openly gay actors should not be denied opportunities. Gay characters should not be denied romance.

I’m fucking fed up with this.

I've never seen HSM but I have seen Grabeel in costume as the character. He was totally styled as gay.

R22 The character was always supposed to be gay, which is why they cast a flaming nelly bottom to play him. In the original version of the film, before the Disney higher ups saw it and had editing input, Ryan was supposed to have a thing with the black guy who bakes. In the end they cut that out, made Ryan "straight", and made the guy who bakes attracted to his sister.

[Quote] I don't get the point in him staying closeted for this long. It'd make sense if he was getting roles but he hasn't had an acting gig since his Disney days and he's starting to get fat and old. Why does he still refuse to be open about his sexuality?

He's part of Camp Podwall, is he not?

There were a few gay guys in my high school just like Ryan.

While I have no issue with making sure there is enough work for everyone, especially gay people and actors of color... but isn't acting supposed to be make believe? So will a gay actor, not be able to play a straight character now? How specific are we going to get with this?

R29

Oh the poor straight actors!!!

Fuck off.

R29 Nobody is allowed to play a character they aren't identical to in real life. In fact, because of this, no more fictional movies or TV shows will ever be made. From now on every piece of media must be like Keeping Up With Tha Kardashians, just to avoid any problematicness.

[Quote] isn't acting supposed to be make believe?

Do you believe star actors appear out of nowhere or are they built/developed/promoted? If the latter, do you not see the disparity in treatment?

I think I'm on to OP's m.o.

He loves to post articles and then he camps the comments, insulting and berating everyone who dares disagree with whatever slop he's pushing. He clearly enjoys the conflict and namecalling. Go back to Twitter, OP.

Your conservative arguments are only helping the straights and harming the gays. Of course you won’t see that though.

LOL, who does he think he is, Darren Criss?

Gay Actors for Gay Roles is a push for Hollywood to finally cast openly gay actors in straight roles, roles that pay well. It's all about changing Hollywood's attitude about refusing to take a change on openly gay actors, because they insist they don't have the power to make the general public accept an openly gay actor in a straight role.

Sorry, to take a chance on openly gay actors,

r35 that's not the case anymore. You seem to be living in the 80s.

R33

Yeah I’m such a villain for fighting for openly gay actors! Give me a break.

r38 Ah, the standard Twitter argument style, "I'm FIGHTING FOR XXX (which is why I'm bullying and namecalling anyone who disagrees with me)"

You go on, you keyboard warrior, you! You're making a real difference!

R6 Lucas would make an adorable soft-butch. Or a stunt double for Macaulay Culkin.

Wokeness

R27 I don’t really get the whole Podwall thing. Do the members sign NDAs and agree to fuck the Overlord in exchange for auditions/roles, or something?

The rumour always was that Grabeel fucked Efron on the HSM I set, but I have trouble believing that given that they’re both so femme and have bottom energy. Who topped in that scenario, and how? Doesn’t seem plausible, to me.

‘Grabeel’ is such an ugly name to read on paper. I’d have changed it. I know it’s pronounciation isn’t so awful, but you know, first impressions.

[Quote] I’d have changed it.

To "Grabsheels," maybe?

CLOSET FAIL

Yep r27.

Lucas Grabeel is part of the Eric Podwall gang. And as we all know Eric Podwall does not believe in his clients coming out.

Yes I agree we should let gay actors play gay roles. I prefer playing straight just like Lucas.

[Quote] Or a stunt double for Macaulay Culkin.

How often is Macaulay doing action movies?? 😄

Lucas Grabeel is gay as a goose.

You people are dense. It's not that straight actors are literally unable to play gay characters, it's that they don't want to take roles away from gay actors, since many people refuse to cast gay men in straight romantic roles. It's about giving gay actors more opportunities.

That said, Lucas claiming to be straight is hilarious

Non-Jewish leads of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" quits in solidarity!

"The rumour always was that Grabeel fucked Efron on the HSM I set, but I have trouble believing that given that they’re both so femme and have bottom energy. Who topped in that scenario, and how? Doesn’t seem plausible, to me. "

The rumor that I heard was that Efron was fucking Grabeel and they switched roles one time. It was supposedly the first time Efron bottomed and he found that he liked it.

[quote] Efron was fucking Grabeel and they switched roles one time. It was supposedly the first time Efron bottomed and he found that he liked it.

Somehow I get the impression that Lucas didn’t enjoy the experience quite as much.

Grabeel seems embarrassed and ungrateful for the break, that in the ‘00s hundreds of similar gay teenage nobodies from the Midwest would have chewed their arm off to get. You don’t hear Corbin apologising that Chad Danforth should have been played by a 7ft. redbone, or Efron saying that Troy Bolton should have been played by a different actor who could actually sing and play basketball at a high level.

Does Lucas think he could have made it further without winning the role of Ryan? Is he bitter about something clandestine that happened while working at Disney, or that they didn’t push him enough? Does he want to be a legitimate popSTAH, and thinks the HSM brand has tainted him?

He needs to expand on this thinking and report back, if he wants our sympathy.

I don't think he wants sympathy. As said upthread, he wants to be seen as straight and woke to the plight of gay actors.

R20 or the blazing inferno of gay innuendo that was ‘I Don’t Dance’. The grass on the baseball diamond was scorched by all the sexual tension.

Surprising that Ortega didn’t write the Ryan character to fall in love (or lust) with Chad rather than Zeke. The crush Ryan allegedly had on Zeke - as shown briefly in the deleted scenes, and alluded to in the stage shows - came out of nowhere and didn’t make sense. For a franchise about overcoming superficial differences and getting to know one another as complex real people, it was weird that the outcasted Ryan was crazy from a distance about a fairly stupid and shallow jock. Ryan didn’t know Zeke beyond classmate level, and never interacted with him in the films. On the other hand, Ryan actually got to know Chad well as a friend (through Sharpay’s quest to destroy Troyella), and seemed to enjoy his company and have a strong flirtatious chemistry with him. If you watch the films closely: in the first movie Ryan & Chad stand next to each other in several scenes and make a point of interacting even though they are in separate plots (one of the first major points of dynamic action in the whole franchise is Ryan catching a basketball that Chad tosses in homeroom); while in the second movie, Ryan & Chad spend most of their time together when Troy is otherwise occupied chasing after Gabriella or running around after Sharpay.

In retrospect it would have made perfect sense to have a slow-burn background romance plot between Ryan & Chad in the third film, maybe to do with attending Prom together m, but of course that could never have happened.

[Quote] the whole Podwall thing. Do the members sign NDAs and agree to fuck the Overlord

-- Laughs nervously --

Why are there no fake nudes of Corbin Bleu (Chad) fucking Lucas Grabeel (Ryan)? Seriously!!!!

R59 well, there are fanfics by the literal thousands, if you like to read.