For 2000s Disney Channel youngsters, “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 virtually consistently, however Monique Coleman revealed that the track’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 really hit me very deeply and did cause a bit of a depression.”
While Coleman has fond reminiscences of working along with her solid mates, she instructed Romano that not all solid members have been equally valued by the movies’ execs. “Disney really broke my heart because, when I got to the third movie, I really championed the film; I always spoke so positively,” she recalled. “And I was a Black girl playing the smartest girl in school, which was a very big deal at that time. When it came to promoting the third movie, I wasn’t invited on the tour. They said something about there not being enough room on the plane, and they only 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 really hit me very deeply and did cause a bit of a depression,” she stated. “It helped me to recognize that I was overly identifying with what I was doing and not who I was.” The second of rejection was a turning level for Coleman, who used the ache she felt to replicate on her objectives and take into account methods to make use of her fame for good.
“I always saw myself as more than just someone who was able to book a job,” she continued. “I knew that there were other things that I wanted to contribute in this world, whether it be writing or directing or just other gifts that I wanted to share.” Since 2010, Coleman has been the CEO and founding father of GimmeMo, a “multi-platform community that creates positive content for youth and facilitates conversation about issues young people face.” “I’m not going to be reduced to Taylor McKessie,” she stated. “I’m going to leave a message that lets you know that your dreams are also possible.”
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 nine years apart, and Vanessa and I are eight years apart,” she stated. “I was 24 years old working with 15- and 16-year-olds, having an entirely 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 long run. “I would be so open to working with Disney, absolutely,” she stated. “Disney’s my alma mater. I tell them all the time I would like to come home. I feel like especially with Disney+, there’s so much more opportunity. It’s not the same as Disney Channel. There was a lot of limitation [on Disney Channel] in terms of what you were able to do and show, so I would absolutely be so open to a show on Disney.”
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