Disney Channel First: 'Andi Mack' Character Says 'I'm Gay'

An Andi Mack character has made history by seemingly being the first character on a Disney show to say “I’m gay.”

Cyrus Goodman came out in the second season of the tween show, but didn’t actually label himself at the time. He came out to his two closest friends, Andi and Buffy, separately, but both with the admittance that he had a crush on Andi’s boyfriend, Jonah.

The coming out storyline was praised for how carefully it was handled, and how relatable it was for its young audience, as Cyrus spoke of feeling “weird.”

But now in its third season, the show has taken things a step further and had Cyrus actually put words to the feelings he has expressed.

Cyrus and his former crush Jonah are spending a brief moment together during Cyrus’s grandmother’s shiva as Cyrus explains all the food that’s been brought out.

“And I’m gay,” he suddenly tacks on to the end.

“Yeah?” Jonah responds. “Okay, cool.”

That’s it. Simple, but so important.

Joshua Rush, the actor who plays Cyrus, commented on Twitter how grateful he is to be a part of Cyrus’s constantly evolving and history-making storyline.

The writer of the episode, Jonathan Hurwitz, told GLAAD that the moment was based partially on his own experience coming out to a friend in college.

“While grabbing burgers one afternoon, he asked me to pass the ketchup, so I handed him the bottle while mumbling words, ‘I’m gay.’ He looked up at me, said ‘Cool,’ then proceeded to put ketchup on his burger as if I hadn’t just revealed my most personal, deepest truth.”

“I remember thinking: ‘That’s it?!’” he added. “But what I ultimately realized was that my friends and family loved me unconditionally before I’d even learned to truly love myself.”

Disney has long been under fire for its reluctance to include explicitly LGBTQ characters in its films, and there have been very few on its shows as well, but hopefully the attention Cyrus’s storylines keep receiving, that will begin to change.