Disney Channel Star Reveals He Was in Conversion Therapy While Filming

Actor Matthew Scott Montgomery is opening up about something too many people think is a problem of the distant past — conversion therapy.

Montgomery got his start on Disney channel, with roles on the musical sketch comedy show So Random!, Shake It Up, and Austin & Ally. But in a TikTok earlier this year, he admitted there’s something most people don’t know about his time on those shows.

“On my days off from shooting all of these shows, I was actually in conversion therapy,” he said. “If you don’t know what conversion therapy is, it is therapy that you’re sent to in hopes of changing you from gay to straight. It’s very damaging, and it feels really, really terrible when you’re in it.”

He continued, saying that he was sharing this with everyone now to remind viewers that “you have no idea what people are going through behind the scenes and to hopefully increase empathy, and to let you know that if you’ve been through conversion therapy, or are maybe in conversion therapy right now, that there’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing needs to be fixed. Nothing needs to be changed.”

Montgomery followed up his upsetting reveal by speaking more in depth with Daniel Franzese and Azariah Southworth on Yass, Jesus!, a pro-LGBTQ+ podcast devoted to the intersection of faith and sexuality.

He also clarified that conversion therapy was something put together by his parents, and that the folks at Disney were great to him — a necessary clarification, as Disney is currently under fire for supporting politicians who back the "Don’t Say Gay" bill in Florida.

After coming forward, Montgomery received an outpouring of support online, with friends and fans alike expressing their appreciation for him saying the things he did.

“Survivor to survivor, thank you for opening up and sharing this party of your story,” one viewer wrote. “I’m so glad you made it out and are living your truth.”