Ryan From "High School Musical" Has Been Confirmed As Gay, And The Memes Are Strong

    "In my day, they really made that boy date a woman."

    Natasha Jokic
    by Natasha Jokic

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Attention: Ryan from High School Musical has canonically been confirmed as gay.

    Ryan and Sharpay singing in a scene from "High School Musical"
    Disney

    Now, the director of HSM, Kenny Ortega, did say in 2020 that Ryan's character was gay — and likely would have come out in college. "It was less about coming out and just more about letting his true colors come forward," he said, adding that he "didn't think at the time" there could be an openly gay Disney Channel character.

    Ryan and Sharpay singing in a scene from "High School Musical"
    Disney

    In fact, Lucas Grabeel himself said that he asked Kenny during filming if Ryan was gay — which he confirmed. As such, Lucas said that he wasn't sure if he would take on the role if the movie were made now: "As a straight white man, I know that even without trying, I have taken opportunities away from other people."

    Ryan about to make a pitch on the baseball field from "High School Musical"
    Disney

    Lucas added of the conversation with Kenny, "He was like, 'Well, I mean, it's a touchy subject sometimes with children's programming — I'm not sure if Disney is ready now for that kind of thing. I absolutely agree that he is, and I think we have an opportunity here to showcase a real person.'" 

    Of course, none of this was in the main movies — Ryan took Kelsi to prom, and there's a deleted scene where he asks her out in High School Musical 3.

    Kelsi and Ryan in "High School Musical"
    Disney

    Well, thanks to a sneak peak for an upcoming episode of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, we have onscreen confirmation that Ryan isn't straight.

    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
    Disney+ / Via Twitter: @hsmseries

    In the clip, Ryan's partner shows up to support him, tells him that he loves him, and then the two share a kiss:

    Disney+

    As such, Twitter (sorry, X) was taken by storm:

    James Devaney/Getty Images / Disney / Via Twitter: @bklynb4by

    this was all the confirmation we needed https://t.co/NJ0blcRqAv pic.twitter.com/Y5grWyobDe

    — mal! (@photonsmight) July 25, 2023
    Disney / Alamy / Via Twitter: @photonsmight

    We knew this in elementary https://t.co/qrNdZlieA1

    — HOOD VOGUE is tired of poverty (@keyon) July 25, 2023
    Disney / Alamy / Via Twitter: @keyon

    “rainbow capitalism” idc the fact that there are like legit gay characters on disney shows now is crazy . like in my day they really made that boy date a woman https://t.co/T7JTt4EWYL

    — ethel KENiac (@evemmore) July 25, 2023
    Disney / Alamy / Via Twitter: @evemmore