Disney star Garret Clayton says his dad ‘hated’ that he was gay

Garret Clayton has opened up about his family’s negative reactions to him coming out as gay.

The former Disney star, who came out publicly and revealed his long-term relationship in August with an Instagram post, said his dad “just hated it” and his brother had blocked him on Facebook when he told them.

Clayton, who rose to fame in the Disney Channel’s TV film Teen Beach, told Gay Times: “Before my dad moved to Florida I kind of had a meltdown and told him, and he just hated it.

Clayton is the publication’s November cover star (Gay Times)

“A month or two after that, when I was leaving my last day on the set of my first movie—which was a huge step for me, I was so excited—he freaked out because I was late.

“I came out to the car and he just started screaming at me, and it boiled up to him screaming at me about how he hated that I was gay, and he didn’t know what to do with me.

“It was this horrible gut-wrenching fight right after one of my first big accomplishments,” he added.

The 27-year-old, who has been appearing in films since 2008, said he made his sexuality clear to his brother in 2015, after he responded poorly to the Supreme Court legalising same-sex marriage across the US.

The star has been appearing in films since 2008 (Gay Times)

“My brother reacted badly when I told him, too,” said Clayton. “I don’t want to put him on blast, because he’s still my family, but I do feel that honesty in this situation is important.

“A few years ago, when same-sex marriage was legalised, my brother was furious, and he went online posting about how the American flag was gonna be a rainbow soon, like: ‘What’s happening to America?’

“And I remember seeing that and thinking: ‘You have a gay brother, you idiot!'” he recalled.

“So I went on his Facebook like: ‘So wait a minute, you’re telling me that there can be someone you care about in your life, who wants to impede nothing on yours, and just wants the same rights as you, and you would take that away from them?’

I remember seeing that and thinking: ‘You have a gay brother, you idiot!'” (Gay Times)

“And then he blocked me.