For 2000s Disney Channel children, “Excessive Faculty Musical”‘s hit “We’re All in This Collectively” was an anthem that performed on the radio — and in our heads — on loop virtually consistently, however Monique Coleman revealed that the tune’s harmonious sentiment did not lengthen to all the 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, “Susceptible With Christy Carlson Romano,” to replicate on the highs and lows of her Excessive Faculty Musical journey.
“That heartbreak actually hit me very deeply and did trigger a little bit of a melancholy.”
Whereas Coleman has fond recollections of working along with her solid mates, she informed Romano that not all solid members had been equally valued by the movies’ execs. “Disney actually broke my coronary heart as a result of, after I received 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 woman enjoying the neatest woman at school, which was a really massive deal at the moment. When it got here to selling the third film, I wasn’t invited on the tour. They mentioned one thing about there not being sufficient room on the airplane, and so they solely invited Zac [Efron], Vanessa [Hudgens], and Ashley [Tisdale]. Corbin [Bleu] and Lucas [Grabeel] and I weren’t included.”
Picture Supply: Getty / Albert L. Ortega / WireImage
For Coleman, the fact of being excluded from a challenge 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 melancholy,” she mentioned. “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 contemplate methods to make use of her fame for good.
“I at all times noticed myself as extra than simply somebody who was in a position to e book 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 neighborhood that creates constructive content material for youth and facilitates dialog about points younger individuals face.” “I am not going to be lowered to Taylor McKessie,” she mentioned. “I will go away a message that allows you to know that your goals are additionally potential.”
Whereas the heartbreak she skilled behind the scenes was pivotal, Coleman added that she felt blessed to be working with such younger, gifted 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 mentioned. “I used to be 24 years previous working with 15- and 16-year-olds, having a completely totally different perspective.”
When Carlson requested if she would ever contemplate working with Disney once more, Coleman — who appeared in a season three episode of “Excessive Faculty Musical: The Musical: The Collection” — mentioned that there is at all times hope for the long run. “I’d be so open to working with Disney, completely,” she mentioned. “Disney’s my alma mater. I inform them on a regular basis I wish to come house. I really feel like particularly with Disney+, there’s a lot extra alternative. It is not the identical as Disney Channel. There was a number of limitation [on Disney Channel] by way of what you had been in a position to do and present, so I’d completely be so open to a present on Disney.”
