The future of Alex Russo, Selena Gomez‘s character in The Wizards of Waverly Place, could have a very different twist in the series, as the creators of the series wanted her to be bisexual, but Disney did not let them show that side.
Disney refused to make Selena Gomez’s character bisexual
Through an interview for the podcast Wizards of Waverly Pod the show’s showrunner, Peter Murrieta, confessed that he had very different plans for Alex in the series, which involved showing her bisexual side with another character, Stevie, but Disney put a stop to it. “I wish we could have played more with what was too obvious to many of us. We couldn’t do that at the time, but it was pretty clear to all of us what kind of relationship that was,” the creative commented.
Jennifer Stone, host of the podcast and also a former cast member with the character of Harper, weighed in on Murrieta’s comments, noting that the show, which aired between 2007 and 2012, most likely could have reached a more acceptable point for the LGBTIQ+ community if it had been made during this time. “Disney Channel has had LGBTIQ+ characters, and they have. It wasn’t an option at the time, though. But we came as close as we could; I mean: it was pretty close (to happening). It would have been great,” Murrieta added.
And it may not be canon in the original story, but many fans have also agreed with this vision of the character and his possible relationship with the one played by Hayley Kiyoko, to the point that they even named the fictional couple: Stalex. And all the stars involved in the show have been very aware of this, to the extent that they have even made comments about it on social networks; for example, Stone mentioned the name of the couple in a text for TikTok that accompanied a preview video of the interview with Murrieta.
“We know everyone wanted Stalex to happen. We wanted it too,” the text reads. And, according to Entertainment Weekly, Kiyoko herself boasted about it in an interview with Them last year when talking about how her character had a sort of gay awakening during the show, which was picked up by most fans. “At the time, I wasn’t openly queer, and just being on ‘The Wizards…,’ I felt very insecure or like I was self-exposing as a flaming lesbian,” she commented. “But obviously for fans who watched the show, Stevie is part of her gay awakening, and I wasn’t able to mask my lesbian energy very well with the character.”
What do you think about the possibility of Selena Gomez‘s character in Wizards of Waverly Place being bisexual? Would you have liked to see that side of the role?
Story written in Spanish by Alejandro Vizzuet in Cultura Colectiva