Yahoo News High School Musical TV star Joshua Bassett responds to homophobic trolls after coming out
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star Joshua Bassett has addressed the homophobia he's encountered since coming out this year.
Catching up with Attitude, the Ricky Bowen portrayer admitted that society is much further behind in terms of LGBTQ+ acceptance than he originally believed.
"This was the first time where I was subjected to a lot of homophobia. You know, I seem 'straight' to everyone I meet, pretty much, and I have had to see that [homophobia] first-hand," he began.
Related: High School Musical: The Series season 3 – Release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know
"Seeing that put things into perspective, of how far along we aren't yet; I thought we were a lot further on than we are."
Still, with the rough came some smooth, as Bassett added: "On the flip side of all that are the responses I've gotten from people saying, 'I've never had somebody put into words exactly how I feel.' Or, 'Thank you so much for helping me be seen.' Or, 'I can't be who I am around my family, but because of you I feel a little bit safer, a little bit more at home.'
"That makes it all worth it."
Related: Disney+'s High School Musical star shares that he is bisexual in charming video
A self-labelled "advocate for all the people without a voice", Bassett has adopted a solid philosophy of standing up to face the toxic few.
"People can hate me forever and say the nastiest thing possible, but it will not change a thing," he continued.
"Ultimately, all that garbage melts away from one story, let alone thousands of people telling me I've changed their life – which is wild, but a crazy honour."
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is available to stream now on Disney+.
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