A post shared by Tim Federle (@timfederle)If anyone’s on a mission to make Disney more gay, it’s Tim Federle. After all, the openly gay author, director, screenwriter, and all around wonder is responsible for some of Disney’s biggest and gayest hits.Case in point: Federle is the creator, showrunner and executive producer of the Disney+, GLAAD Award-winning hit, High School Musical: the Musical: the Series (say that three times fast).
In 2019, the show made history when it featured Disney’s first prominent gay romance and same-sex kiss.“This is a story that would have changed my life if I had seen it when I was a kid,” Federle told The Los Angeles Times back when the kiss first aired. “And the reason it would have changed my life is because it’s no big deal.
It’s actually just real life.” A post shared by Tim Federle (@timfederle)It’s a similar sentiment Federle shared with Queerty back in 2019.“When it comes to the LGBTQ characters in the show, I don’t want to use their identities as a plot twist or a ‘tragic coming out’ arc,” he said. “Those stories are important to see—but if we want to change the conversation around gay identity, we also need to see characters who just are gay, already, and don’t have a problem with it.
And in fact, embrace it.”That said, Federle understands the impact something like a simple kiss can have on people across the globe.