The Real Reason Dove Cameron Was Afraid To Reveal Her Sexuality

With a whopping 42 million followers on Instagram, singer and (Emmy-winning) actor Dove Cameron's star is ever-rising. Announced in March as one of the titular heroes in the CW live-action adaptation of "The Powerpuff Girls" alongside Chloe Bennet and Yana Perrault, Cameron has been a fixture with Disney fans for some time. Per her agency's bio, Cameron not only starred in a slew of Disney series including the sitcom "Liv and Maddie," but her single for the show, "Better in Stereo," climbed all the way to the top spot on Billboard's Digital Songs chart. 

Going on to star in the "Descendants" trilogy, during the filming of which Cameron met ex-boyfriend Thomas Doherty, Cameron revealed she was bisexual in an August 2020 Instagram livestream. Discussing the music video for her single "We Belong," which features LGBTQ+ couples kissing, Cameron disclosed on the live chat reposted by a fan to Twitter, "I think that's really beautiful, speaking as someone who is bi." 

Cameron confirmed fan speculation that began in 2017 when a Snapchat story showed her lip-locked with "Zack Snyder's Justice League" star Kiersey Clemons, via J-14. Per the outlet, fans curiously tweeted her, "like this if gay" as well as "like this if bisexual." Cameron accommodated both requests without making verbal statements on the subject. In 2021, Cameron told Gay Times why she was hesitant to reveal her sexuality initially. Read on to learn what the star had to say. 

"I've hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody," Dove Cameron told Gay Times in a May cover story, after confirming on an August 2020 Instagram livestream (reposted by a Twitter user) that she was bisexual. The actor-singer, who has been in Disney projects for nearly ten years, told the publication, "I felt like I wouldn't be accepted." Cameron's moment of truth came when creating the lyric video for her July 2020 single "We Belong." "It had moving line drawings of people falling in love," she described the visual imagery, adding, "It was all a man and a woman making out and it was a weird moment for me."  

After telling producers to add a kissing gay and a lesbian couple, Cameron revealed she then faced allegations of "queerbaiting." As she told Gay Times, "Everybody got the idea that the song was a big LGBTQ+ anthem song," the "Descendants" star said. "I went on [August 2020's] Instagram Live and said 'Guys, I really needed to explain something to you. Maybe I haven't said it, but I'm super queer. This is something I want to represent through my music because it's who I am.'"

Cameron avoids labeling her sexuality. "[Coming out] was about who I am as a whole rather than who I choose to date or sleep with," she stated, adding she did not want to "edit myself depending on the room that I'm in." Wisely said!