This Is the First Disney Character to Ever Say “I’m Gay”

The scene was was inspired, in part, by the coming out experience of one of the show’s writers.

In 2017, the coming-of-age television show Andi Mack made history when it was announced that it would depict a gay story arc for one of its supporting characters — a first for Disney Channel. Now, after that “coming out” moment on season two, the character Cyrus Goodman (Joshua Rush) finally said the words, “I’m gay.”

On Friday’s episode, entitled “One in a Minyan,” the show’s lead characters attend the shiva of Goodman’s grandmother, Bubbe Rose. There, Goodman shows his friends, including Jonah Beck, who he previously had a crush on, through the buffet of food. After pointing to and naming a few of the dishes, Goodman turns to Beck:

“And I’m gay,” he says.

“Yeah?” Beck replies. “Cool.” And the scene rolls on, seamlessly marking a first for the network, a spokesperson for Disney confirmed to Out. When the footage got shared to social media, Rush tweeted: “Every day is a blessing working on this show. This milestone is just another stitch in a rich and vibrant tapestry that is Cyrus Goodman.”

Every day is a blessing working on this show. This milestone is just another stitch in a rich and vibrant tapestry that is Cyrus Goodman. https://t.co/dTSBdop7UJ

— joshua rush (@JoshuaRush) February 8, 2019

The scene was written by Jonathan Hurwitz, who stated in a guest post for GLAAD that he felt compelled to write the episode himself. “As someone who’s Jewish, has dealt with long-term anxiety, and has come out to his friends and family, I had a very personal stake in this one,” Hurwitz wrote. Before the coming out, earlier in the episode Goodman hand helped calm Beck down form a panic attack. “So you can imagine how I felt when the story breaking was complete and our showrunner, Terri Minsky, turned to me and asked, ‘Do you want to write this episode?’”

Hurwitz went on to work with the rest of the writers, Minksy, and Disney Channel executives and consultants to write the scenes. In the past, the show has also collaborated with GLAAD and others in ensuring Goodman’s storyline is handled properly.

“In the writers’ room, I shared a personal story about how nervous I was to come out to a college friend back in 2010,” Hurwitz wrote. “While grabbing burgers one afternoon, he asked me to pass the ketchup, so I handed him the bottle while mumbling the words ‘I’m gay.’ He looked up at me, said ‘Cool,’ then proceeded to put ketchup on his burger as if I hadn’t just revealed my most personal, deepest truth.” In the scene from the show, shock registers on the face of both Goodman and his friends as the surprising ease of such of a revelation settled in.

“Through Cyrus’ journey both in this episode and the series at large, I hope that audiences understand this — that we're all worthy of being heard, seen, and loved by the friends and family with whom we surround ourselves,” Hurwitz wrote. “Even when they’re distracted by the gefilte fish.”

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