‘Andi Mack’ star Joshua Rush has come out as bisexual

Words: Steve Brown

Andi Mack star Joshua Rush has come out as bisexual.

The actor starred as 13-year-old Cyrus Goodman in the hit Disney teen-drama and made history as being the first ever character to say they are gay on the Disney Channel.

As the show was cancelled, it ended with Cyrus being in a same-sex relationship – another milestone for the Disney Channel.

And now, the actor has opened up about his own sexuality on a Twitter thread and admitted he took inspiration from his character.

He wrote: “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.

“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?

“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.”

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

In the lengthy thread, Rush went on to recall the time his friend came out to him in the fifth grade and how he suffered from internalised homophobia.

He continued: “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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) August 6, 2019