Lea Salonga Celebrates Queer Strides on TV with 'Pretty Little Liars'

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin isn't messing around with representation... and that's no lie.

Lea Salonga is just one of the many talented cast members who plays a queer role on the hit Pretty Little Liars spin-off.

"Everybody has been wonderful. To portray a lot of queer characters, it's a wonderful thing. Our queerness is not a plot point, it's just who they are," Salonga tells PRIDE.

Salonga portrays Elodie Honrada, a lesbian mother looking out for Minnie 'Mouse' Honrada, portrayed by Malia Pyles.

"What Elodie and Shirley as parents go through... it can be what any other parent anywhere in the world goes through," she says. "It's wonderful to see their humanity. It's not just their queerness, but it's who they are as people and what their essence is as human beings."

With PLL:OS being just one of the many shows on TV now with LGBTQ+ representation, Salonga hopes young audiences can relate and feel seen with the diverse casting on screen.

"It's nuts. It feels like a huge responsibility. If there is someone for whom this really resonates, it's great. The creators of the show really took care in how these characters were going to be portrayed."

Salonga is also one of the many trailblazers in diversifying characters on screen, with many fans recognizing her voice as Disney's Mulan and her singing voice for Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. Thanks to her iconic portrayals of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend."

"I guess I was around before the word representation was what it is now," Salonga says. "It's wonderful to have been able to watch as more and more people of color, people from Asia, be able to occupy spaces that they would not have been able to before. It's great [that] now I'm not the only one that's doing this. There's so many of us. More of our stories are being told. It's very exciting stuff."

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin also received the greenlight for a second season on HBO Max, which naturally left the star filled with glee.

"It makes me feel really happy and very satisfied that people have been enjoying the show. I'm really really happy. I never thought I'd be on a show like this."

Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is streaming now on HBO Max. For the full interview, check out the video below.

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