Joshua Rush, who played the gay teen ‘Cyrus Goodman’ on the Disney Channel series Andi Mack, just came out as bisexual on his Twitter account Tuesday.
Rush gained national attention when his Andi Mack character came out in 2017 becoming the first openly gay Disney Channel character.
In last month’s series finale, his character was revealed to be part of the first gay couple on a Disney series.
Now that the series has wrapped, Rush appears to have had one more ‘coming out’ to do.
On Twitter, the 17-year-old wrote, “First to respond to this tweet is bi.” He quickly followed that with his own response, “First! I win! It’s me. I’m bi.”
He added there were “a few things” he wanted to share with his fans.
https://twitter.com/JoshuaRush/status/1158769731396100097
The actor told his fans he thought it ‘ironic’ that his TV character’s coming out could send a message of empowerment to young LGBTQs, but until today he hadn’t found the courage to come out himself.
In fact, he says it’s his fans reaction to Cyrus’s journey that inspired him today.
https://twitter.com/JoshuaRush/status/1158769734176956419
Sharing that he had a close friend come out to him in fifth grade, Rush admitted he “suffered with some level” of his own “internalized homophobia” while playing a gay character on TV.
His solution at the time? “I stuffed the existential crisis of talking about my sexual orientation into a box in my mind for years,” he wrote, adding, “Today, I release it into the world.”
https://twitter.com/JoshuaRush/status/1158769736920027143
Noting that sexual orientation doesn’t make up “all” of his identity, Rush pointed to bi erasure and the challenges that trans women of color face every day as more pressing issues than his sexual identity.
He asked folks to donate to GLAAD (which promotes positive messaging for LGBTQs in the media) because his Disney Channel series “wouldn’t have existed in the form that it did without them.” Rush also urged folks to check out GLAAD’s info on bisexuality to become better informed on where being bi falls on the spectrum of sexuality.
https://twitter.com/JoshuaRush/status/1158769739122053120
And, he gave a shoutout to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention to LGBTQ young people.
https://twitter.com/JoshuaRush/status/1158769741525323777
Amit Paley, CEO & Executive Director of The Trevor Project, responded with this statement:
“It can mean so much to young LGBTQ people to see their sexual orientation and gender identity portrayed in media and Hollywood, especially if they aren’t able to safely express themselves. We’re grateful to Joshua Rush for showing his fans that he supports them and that they are perfect and beautiful the way they are.”
While he hadn’t come out yet, it was just a few weeks ago that Rush shared a photo on Instagram after attending his first Pride event.
