Credit: DisneyIn a shocking revelation, a former Disney child star revealed they underwent conversion therapy while filming a Disney Channel original series.
Created by the Walt Disney Company in 1983, the Disney Channel is known to have produced shows that kickstarted some of the biggest stars in entertainment today, including Hannah Montana (2006-2011) starring Miley Cyrus, Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004) starring Hilary Duff, Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012) starring Selena Gomez, and the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical (2006) starring Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale.
One of those beloved shows was Sonny With a Chance (2009-2011), starring Demi Lovato. Soon after ending, the series received a popular spinoff sketch series called So Random! (2011-2012). Recently, one of the actors on the show, Matthew Scott Montgomery, opened up about his experience undergoing conversion therapy while filming the show.
Disney Channel Star Matthew Scott Montgomery Opens Up About Conversion Therapy
Matthew Scott Montgomery, an actor most well-known for his appearances on the Los Angeles stage, indie horror films, and Unidentified With Demi Lovato (2021), recently guested on the Vulnerable Podcast, hosted by fellow Disney Channel alum Christy Carlson Romano. There, he described his experiences of going through conversion therapy in vivid detail.
According to the Trevor Project, conversion therapy, sometimes called “reparative therapy,” is any of several dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It has consistently been proven ineffective and hazardous for LGBTQIA+ youth.
Related: Disney Channel Has Been Working Around Paying Creatives for Decades
Montgomery described the program as a center “for gay men who wanted to be turned from gay to straight and make it as a straight movie star.” He attended three hours a week while filming So Random! The actor noted that no one at Disney knew about this. “No one knew. My castmates did not know at the time, so it was kind of a secret.”
“You have to understand that in the environment that I grew up in, you’re taught that you deserve to be punished all the time,” Montgomery explained. “At the time, the career stuff was going so well that I was like still in this broken prison brain of thinking, ‘I’m on red carpets. I’m on TV every week. This is too good, I should be punished on my days off.'”
He then detailed the types of “treatments” they performed on him, including filling out worksheets detailing his feelings for other men, playing football, and apologizing to his dad for being “a sensitive, artistic little boy.” Montgomery also went through electric shock therapy.
“I would have these silver rods that I would have to hold in my hands,” he recalled. “They would try to build up your tolerance for the electric shock until it was painful.”
Related: All Disney Owned Cable Channels Disappear: ESPN, ABC, and More Canceled
Fortunately, Matthew Scott Montgomery was able to find love and support through others close to him, including his friends Hayley Kiyoko and Demi Lovato. “Demi’s family. That’s my family, that’s my soulmate,” he said. “That’s the person who loves me the deepest. At that point, I was able to begin to carefully curate a life that was filled with love and art and expression that was satisfying me.”
Related: Disney Star Alyson Stoner Fired for Coming Out as Queer
In the end, Montgomery had beautiful words of encouragement for any other LGBTQIA+ youth who could be going through something similar. “If you’re listening to this and you either have been through conversion therapy or thinking about it. There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s not a thing in the world wrong with you. You are loved. You deserve to have a perfect, beautiful life.”
It is heartwarming to see that Matthew Scott Montgomery has become a person he is happy to be. If you or someone you know needs help in a similar situation, do not hesitate to contact the Trevor Project. It could save a life.
Do you think Disney should do more to protect child actors? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!