It was super groundbreaking when Joshua Rush‘s Andi Mack character, Cyrus Goodman, became the first ever Disney Channel character to come out as gay. And now, the actor has an important announcement of his own. Joshua revealed via Twitter on Tuesday, August 6 that he’s bisexual, and we are seriously so proud of him.
“First to respond to this tweet is bi,” he wrote, followed up by another tweet which read, “First! I win! It’s me. I’m bi. And now that I’ve said that, I have a few things to rant about. There are more important things to talk about than me liking a whole bunch of genders, but I do want to share a few things with you guys.”
first! i win! it's me. i'm bi. And now that I've said that, I have a few things to rant about. There are more important things to talk about than me liking a whole bunch of genders, but I do want to share a few things with you guys.
— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) August 6, 2019
“I saw so many of you watch Cyrus come out and said, ‘Hey! I can be me!’ How ironic, isn’t it, that me, playing that character, never had mustered up that courage?” the Disney star continued. “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.”
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.
— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) August 6, 2019
“I had a close friend of mine come out to me in fifth grade. FIFTH GRADE! That was well before I had any clue of my own identity and orientation. I suffered with some level of my own internalized homophobia even while playing the first openly gay character on Disney Channel,” the actor added. “I stuffed the existential crisis of talking about my sexual orientation into a box in my mind for years. Today, I release it into the world.”
I stuffed the existential crisis of talking about my sexual orientation into a box in my mind for years. Today, I release it into the world.
— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) August 6, 2019
Wow, we’re seriously so amazed by his strength!
“Being bi isn’t all of my identity, nor is it the most important part of my identity. Bi erasure and issues like it are important, but trans women of color still have a life expectancy of THIRTY FIVE YEARS and that is absolutely unacceptable,” he concluded. “So. I want to encourage you all to donate to GLAAD. Our show wouldn’t have existed in the form that it did without them, but also because their hard work in furthering acceptance in media helps an uncountable number of people.”
So. I want to encourage you all to donate to GLAAD. Our show wouldn't have existed in the form that it did without them, but also because their hard work in furthering acceptance in media helps an uncountable number of people.https://t.co/jlQTEcAAu3
— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) August 6, 2019
You go, Joshua!
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
