This theory that HSM's Chad and Ryan were gay actually makes so much sense
High School Musical was a defining part of most of our childhoods but, like a lot of films and TV shows, when you re-watch them as an adult you realise you actually missed SO much.
And HSM is definitely no exception. Fans of the Disney franchise have taken to Twitter with a new theory on the film, and it's that the characters Chad Danforth and Ryan Evans were actually gay and in a relationship together.
Just to give you a quick recap (we know it's been a while): Chad was Troy's basketball best friend and was supposed to be dating Taylor McKessie, while Ryan was Sharpay's brother and took Kelsi to the prom. But Taylor and Kelsi aside, fans think they've figured out that Chad and Ryan were interested in each other the whole time.
If you need to brush up on your HSM memory, all three films are available to stream on Disney+, so that's your weekend sorted (thank us later).
The theory centres around the scene in High School Musical 2 where Ryan and Chad play baseball and sing 'I Don't Dance' together. There is undoubtedly a lot of tension in the scene, which on the surface seems like good old baseball rivalry, but fans think it's actually a big dose of sexual tension between the pair. Plus, they reckon that baseball is one huge homoerotic metaphor.
HSM2 was able to make baseball gay 😍the sexual tension between Ryan and Chad is 💦💦
— Anthony Tresca (@TrescaAnthony) April 7, 2020
"Chad and Ryan are gay" I say into the mic.
The crowd boos. I begin to walk off in shame, when a voice speaks and commands silence from the room.
"She’s right" I hear. I look around for the owners of the voices. There in the fifth row they stands: Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu pic.twitter.com/7DFjzoebPb— bea gle 🐻 mundinho pedro pascal br (@hoedamnron) March 31, 2020
To take things even further, Chad and Ryan swap clothes after the baseball game and are suddenly very cosy together, making Troy and everybody else extremely jealous.
"Bg in kpop are gay"
Bitch have you ever FELT THIS Ryan and THIS Chad? And they still weren't canon.
THEY EXCHANGED CLOTHES. AFTER THE GAME. GUYS. pic.twitter.com/WSwymt8ZZp— j-Paola⁷ 🥂|😁👍 #ssd 📌📌 (@HobiChuuya) April 4, 2020
the high school musical 2 scene of I don’t dance is major gay vibes between Ryan and chad. Even the little clothes swap. #hsm2 #DisneyPlus
— Alex Olivia Jones (@alexoliviajones) April 2, 2020
so when ryan & chad sing to each other and swap clothes
that's a little gay no?— sodapop (@smilelosers) April 4, 2020
m u s i c a l l y stick to the status quo outdoes i don't dance but it's all about the sweet gay character development on both ryan and chad's sides. They ARE In Love now they both dance. with each other 😔😌
— ophy 🌻 (@rosylvaine) April 6, 2020
Listen Chad and Ryan switch outfits at the end! That’s gay!
— obi-wan KIMobi 💫 (@kimothyjimothy) March 31, 2020
Some fans are speculating that Ryan is gay and Chad is bisexual, and while they're pretty certain that Chad and Ryan's friendship in High School Musical 2 came with a lot of sexual tension, they're also mourning what could have happened if their relationship had been an open and obvious storyline.
“So I get it now....Ryan is gay. Chad is bi....it’s so good” minutes later “I always hit it out of the park, bitch.”
— NM (@NMFlowerz) March 31, 2020
chad and ryan ... switch clothes after the baseball song ... baseball ,, "swing both ways".... chad ,, bi ... ryan ,, gay ... they .... together .... pic.twitter.com/QA15uNZgl7
— jas♡mine (@jasminecraftt) January 4, 2020
Anyway chads Bi and Ryan’s gay and they’re married
— Roma (@Romas_World) April 3, 2020
OMG am I the only one that didn’t know about this secret gay story between Chad and Ryan’s “little game”? And the dirty little joke at the end after they “switched their clothes” ?!! pic.twitter.com/5ToyJa3Dcc
— Nak (@zaddynak) October 9, 2018
Others have taken the theory further and speculate that Sharpay is also gay, and was jealous of Gabriella the whole time not Troy.
ryan and sharpay were both gay. ryan was chad’s bf and sharpay was jealous of gabriella cause she wanted her, not troy.
— ari (@thelesbianleo) August 8, 2019
To be honest, this is a lot of information to take in, so we're probably going to have to watch the whole thing again right now.
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