For 2000s Disney Channel children, “High School Musical”‘s hit “We’re All in This Together” was an anthem that performed on the radio — and in our heads — on loop nearly continually, however Monique Coleman revealed that the music’s harmonious sentiment did not lengthen to the entire solid members behind the scenes. On Dec. 13, Coleman, who performed Taylor McKessie within the movie franchise, sat down with fellow Disney Channel star Christy Carlson Romano on her podcast, “Vulnerable With Christy Carlson Romano,” to replicate on the highs and lows of her High School Musical journey.
“That heartbreak actually hit me very deeply and did trigger a little bit of a despair.”
While Coleman has fond recollections of working together with her solid mates, she advised Romano that not all solid members have been equally valued by the movies’ execs. “Disney actually broke my coronary heart as a result of, after I bought to the third film, I actually championed the movie; I at all times spoke so positively,” she recalled. “And I used to be a Black lady taking part in the neatest lady at school, which was a really large deal at the moment. When it got here to selling the third film, I wasn’t invited on the tour. They stated one thing about there not being sufficient room on the aircraft, they usually solely invited Zac [Efron], Vanessa [Hudgens], and Ashley [Tisdale]. Corbin [Bleu] and Lucas [Grabeel] and I weren’t included.”
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For Coleman, the truth of being excluded from a undertaking she had grown so keen on and regarded an integral a part of her profession on the time harm her strongly. “That heartbreak actually hit me very deeply and did trigger a little bit of a despair,” she stated. “It helped me to acknowledge that I used to be overly figuring out with what I used to be doing and never who I used to be.” The second of rejection was a turning level for Coleman, who used the ache she felt to replicate on her targets and take into account methods to make use of her fame for good.
“I at all times noticed myself as extra than simply somebody who was capable of ebook a job,” she continued. “I knew that there have been different issues that I needed to contribute on this world, whether or not it’s writing or directing or simply different presents that I needed to share.” Since 2010, Coleman has been the CEO and founding father of GimmeMo, a “multi-platform group that creates optimistic content material for youth and facilitates dialog about points younger individuals face.” “I’m not going to be lowered to Taylor McKessie,” she stated. “I’m going to depart a message that permits you to know that your goals are additionally doable.”
While the heartbreak she skilled behind the scenes was pivotal, Coleman added that she felt blessed to be working with such younger, proficient stars, lots of whom noticed her as an older sister. “Corbin and I are 9 years aside, and Vanessa and I are eight years aside,” she stated. “I used to be 24 years previous working with 15- and 16-year-olds, having a completely completely different perspective.”
When Carlson requested if she would ever take into account working with Disney once more, Coleman — who appeared in a season three episode of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” — stated that there is at all times hope for the longer term. “I might be so open to working with Disney, completely,” she stated. “Disney’s my alma mater. I inform them on a regular basis I want to come dwelling. I really feel like particularly with Disney+, there’s a lot extra alternative. It’s not the identical as Disney Channel. There was loads of limitation [on Disney Channel] by way of what you have been capable of do and present, so I might completely be so open to a present on Disney.”