Hayley Kiyoko Says Her Role on ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ Was ‘Naturally Very Gay’

Hayley Kiyoko stopped by Wizards of Waverly Pod on Monday (May 15) to reminisce about her time on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, her co-star Selena Gomez and more.

Speaking to co-hosts and fellow former Disney Channel actors Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise, the pop singer dubbed Lesbian Jesus recalled how the magical sitcom granted her one of her first jobs in Hollywood.

“Those who saw me as Stevie, I had my very specific haircut, so I had this very short pixie cut,” the pop star said. “And I remember that haircut was almost like a pigeonhole where I’d go on auditions and people would be like, ‘We just can’t see outside of this look.’ And I was just like, ‘Gosh, I’m just never gonna book anything being myself, looking like myself.’ And Wizards of Waverly Place was one of the first opportunities I had to be booked for what I looked like.”

Kiyoko was in the closet at the time, and she insists she never meant to inject Stevie’s relationship with Gomez’s Alex Russo with any type of romantic undertone — even though fans of the series later dubbed the pairing as “Stalex.”

“I was just, like, naturally very gay,” the singer joked. “I had no notion or thoughts that there was some kind of, like, undertone or underlying storyline that was going on. When I rewatch the episodes, I see that. The lesbian energy was really thriving at that moment.”

Nowadays, Kiyoko is out and proud and in a relationship with former Bachelor star Becca Tilley, who even joined her on the road recently for part of the singer’s ongoing Panorama Tour.

Watch Kiyoko’s full sit-down on Wizards of Waverly Pod below.