These iconic Disney stars came out as LGBTQ+

Who's your favorite LGBTQ+ Disney star?

It's a tale as old as time: young and talented actor/singer becomes popular on the Disney Channel, young and talented actor/singer comes out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. But no matter how many times it happens, we love every single one of these queer Disney stars!

Whether they got their start in Disney Channel Original Movies, had their own show on the network, or come from the increasingly large queer cast of Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, all of these queer Disney stars shine bright!

Scroll through to see both current and former Disney stars who have come out as being in the LGBTQ+ community over the years!

Auliʻi Cravalho

In 2020, Auliʻi Cravalho came out as bisexual in a TikTok answering a question about her sexuality.

The Moana and Moana 2 star — who was a digital cover star for Out in December 2024 — lip synced to Eminem's "Those Kinda Nights," where Eminem raps "seriously though, how are you doing? You straight? No, I'm bi."

Joey Pollari

Joey Pollari was the star of Skyrunners, a 2009 Disney XD Original Movie about two brothers who find an alien spaceship. He came out at 18 to friends and family, and now is focusing on his music career. He also recently had a role in the beloved teen rom-com Love, Simon.

Corey Fogelmanis

Corey Fogelmanis, best known for starring in Girl Meets World, reportedly came out in 2020 on a social media post.

Mollee Gray

Another Teen Beach Movie star, Mollee Gray is a talented dancer who was a finalist on season 6 of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. Gray was raised LDS in Utah, and came out when she got married in 2018.

Michael Seater

While keeping a pretty low profile on social media, Michael Seater has reportedly identified as queer in recent years.

Raven-Symoné

Raven-Symoné says she knew about her sexuality from age 12, but because she was in the spotlight, first starring on The Cosby Show and then the iconic Disney Channel sitcom That's So Raven, she thought she would never be able to publicly acknowledge her sexuality. Fortunately, she was able to come out in 2014 and marry her wife, Miranda Pearman-Maday, in 2020.

Karan Brar

Karan Brar, the former Disney star of Jessie and Bunk'd fame, publicly came out as bisexual in a moving essay from November 2023 about mental health and asking for help.

In the original essay published on Teen Vogue, Brar talked about moving out of his parents' place — something that was difficult for him as an Indian-American — and how that ultimately led to him coming out to friends.

Brar moved in with his fellow Disney actors Cameron Boyce and Sophie Reynolds in 2019, and wrote about how he was able to stop compartmentalizing "public Karan and private Karan." He recalls a night he was drunk and he came out as bisexual to his roommates, fearing that it would forever change how they saw him.

"The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it. I could barely see straight, but I ended up trying to do some damage control anyway," he wrote. Brar then offered to move out, but said his roommates "interrupted me by hugging me from behind. Again, I told them I should move out. They told me I was being stupid. I told them I'd cover for them if people asked why we didn't live together anymore. They said to shut the f*ck up. I told them that they probably hated me. They said my bisexuality changed nothing for them."

Alyson Stoner

Disney Channel icon Alyson Stoner came out in an essay in 2018 published on Teen Vogue. Not only did she appear in the Camp Rock movies and Mike's Super Short Show, making her a regular on the channel, but she also appeared in several Missy Elliott music videos. She recently admitted that she underwent conversion therapy when younger.

Demi Lovato

After starring in Princess Protection Program, Camp Rock, and Sonny With a Chance, Demi Lovato has become a music superstar. They first talked about dating multiple genders in their 2017 YouTube documentary Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated, and this year came out as pansexual and nonbinary, updating their pronouns to they/them.

Hayley Kiyoko

Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko's first Disney appearance was on The Wizards of Waverly Place, but most of us remember her as Stella in Lemonade Mouth. Now she's one of the most popular lesbian pop singers in the country. She's recently released two singles, "Chance," and "Found My Friends."

Miley Cyrus

Former Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus came out in 2015, announcing that she prefers the pansexual label. Over the years, Cyrus has also stated that she's more attracted to women than to men.

Matthew Scott Montgomery

Best known for starring in So Random! on the Disney Channel, Matthew Scott Montgomery came out during an interview where he talked about undergoing conversion therapy in his younger days.

Keke Palmer

Early in her career, Keke Palmer starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!, and we've loved her ever since.

In 2015, she released a music video for her song "I Don't Belong to You" that features a bisexual storyline. She said that the video represented who she was at that time. "The video was to represent the young woman today — it's not the traditional woman anymore — and not the specifics of 'Am I gay? Am I straight? Am I bi?'" she told People. "I'm making the rules for myself, and I don't have to be stuck down to one label."

Dove Cameron

Dove Cameron played twin sisters Liv and Maddie on the Disney Channel show named for them (and later revealed she considers both characters queer) and then has starred in the Descendants films on the cable network.

Over time, Cameron subsequently started coming out on social media with posts theorizing that basically all the characters she's ever played have been queer, and then tweeted that she's bisexual. In 2021, she opened up in an interview with Gay Times about being afraid to come out because of fans' potential reactions.

Bella Thorne

Bella Thorne came out on X (formerly Twitter) in 2016 after starring in the show Shake It Up! on Disney Channel. Since then, she's been involved in several controversies — such as launching an OnlyFans account that earned $1 million in just 24 hours.

Joshua Bassett

Joshua Bassett was an actor in the hugely queer cast of Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. He played the male lead, Ricky, and came out after saying that he thought Harry Styles was hot. He later clarified that he is a part of the LGBTQ+ community but is still taking time to figure out his identity.

Frankie A. Rodriguez

Frankie A. Rodriguez starred as a gay high school student, choreographer, assistant director, and actor named Carlos on Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. During one particular episode, he sang Disney's first ever same-sex love song to his boyfriend, Seb, played by Rodriguez's real-life partner Joe Serafini.

Joe Serafini

The aforementioned Joe Serafini, who came out as bisexual in 2020, starred as Carlos' sweet boyfriend Seb on HSMTMTS. His character is like the farm-boy son of Glee's legendary queer blonde bimbo Brittany S. Pierce.

Larry Saperstein

Yet another High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star, Larry Saperstein portrayed the nerdy and loyal Big Red on the show. The actor then came out as bisexual on TikTok during Pride Month in 2021.

Julia Lester

Julia Lester is a pansexual actress who played Ashlynn on HSMTMTS. During the show's second season, her character appeared in the school's production of Beauty and The Beast. Both she and Larry Saperstein, who played a couple on the show, are queer.

Jack Dylan Grazer

Jack Dylan Grazer played a teen sea monster called Alberto in Luca, and also appeared in movies like Shazam and It. They came out as bi on Instagram Live in recent years — and, at the time, even updated his pronouns on Instagram to he/they on social media.

Joshua Rush

Andi Mack star Joshua Rush played the first-ever Disney Channel character to say "I'm gay" on the cable network. He came out as bisexual when the show wrapped up, saying that he was inspired by fans who came out after seeing his character do so.

"Instead of feeling the courage to tell you today that I am an out and proud bisexual man because of the character I played for four years, I feel that courage thinking of all of you, who felt emboldened by Cyrus to come out," he said. "I suffered with some level of my own internalized homophobia even while playing the first openly gay character on Disney Channel."

Rowan Blanchard

Rowan Blanchard became a big name when she starred as Riley Matthews on Disney Channel's Girl Meets World. She came out as queer in 2016 at just 15 years old.

Garrett Clayton

Garrett Clayton appeared in the DCOM Teen Beach Movie and in the Disney show Shake It Up, before starring in the crime movie King Cobra about gay adult film stars. In 2018, he came out in an emotional post on his Instagram.

Josie Totah

Josie Totah appeared in the Disney Channel series Jessie as a child. In 2018, she came out as trans, and she's since gone on to star on Peacock's Saved By the Bell reboot as a popular trans girl at Bayside High.