In a brave and bold move, Disney Channel star Rowan Blanchard has come out.
In a new essay for Rookie, the actress explained how she came to terms with herself and stopped “apologizing for existing.” Shortly after the article was posted, a fan tweeted out “BisexualRileyMatthews2k16” and Blanchard expressed her support by commenting, “its vvv important to me, being queer, that there is representation on our show.”
She went on to clarify, “being queer to me just means not putting a label on sexuality- just existing,” one of the themes in her article.
This is hardly the first time that Blanchard has made herself heard in a big way. The 14-year-old consistently proves she’s more than just another teen actress on Disney; she’s had an impressive 2015, topping it off by recently being named Feminist of the Year.
Most notable is her essay on intersectional feminism that the starlet posted to Instagram in several parts, discussing at length her thoughts on “mainstream” feminism and how it doesn’t always portray the same issues faced by women of all races.
Though former Disney Channel stars have come out after their time spent on the network, this marks the first time there has been an actor still active with the network who has identified as queer.
New episodes of Girl Meets World air Friday nights on Disney Channel.