Disney

Lucas Grabeel, who played Ryan in "High School Musical," says he would steer clear from the gay character role nowadays ... so as not to take a job away from a gay actor.

Lucas tells TMZ ... the last thing he would want to do is take an opportunity away from another actor, and as a straight, white man he feels he's already taken plenty of opportunities away from others without even trying. Guy owns his white privilege.

As you know ... the director behind 'HSM' recently revealed Ryan was gay all along, but he says Ryan wasn't openly gay in the movies, because back in 2006 he didn't think Disney was ready for such a character.

Lots have changed since Lucas played Ryan in the Disney Channel Movie 14 years ago ... and he thinks a gay actor would be cast for the role if the movie was being made today, and he hopes the character would not have to hide his identity.

Lucas' thinking is similar to that of Mike Henry, the white actor who voiced Cleveland on "Family Guy" for 20 years. Mike recently stepped down from the role, saying the black character should be voiced by a black actor.

As for gay characters like Ryan, Lucas says it's finally time for Disney and others in the industry to start educating children about gay people at the youngest age possible.

Major League Soccer says its players are NOT getting the Fyre Festival treatment inside the Disney bubble -- claiming the players who posted sad sandwich pics are NOT inside the restricted area.

Toronto FC defender Omar Gonzalez posted a pic Tuesday showing an "MLS Is Back" In-Room dining menu which describes some delicious-looking, expensive food options ($65 for lunch!) ... cut next to an unimpressive sando in a brown box.

He tweeted out, "Yummm" ... leading people to believe the widely-touted Disney bubble was looking more like a sham than a glamorous experience.

Omar's teammate Eriq Zavaleta added fuel to the fire by posting another unappetizing sandwich pic. Not a great look.

But, our MLS sources tell us ... those two players are not yet in Orlando -- they're still in Toronto.

The league is unsure who shot the photos -- but reps say the food was served at a quarantine site OUTSIDE the official bubble where players are required to stay for 10 to 12 hours until they are cleared to enter.

There is basic food service at the quarantine site -- like sandwiches, etc -- but since it's essentially a layover spot, the food service isn't as robust.

Once players are allowed into the Walt Disney World bubble environment, it's a completely different story.

We're told players will get "banquet meal" service served in their club meal rooms -- and so far, the feedback on the food has been super positive.

Also, all players will have access to 4 restaurants in the bubble -- including Shula’s Steak House, Todd English Bluezoo, Il Mulino, and Kimonos sushi restaurant.

We're also told, "Players do not pay for meals."

So, yeah ... the travel meal might not be the fanciest food in the world, but MLS insists they're not pulling a Billy McFarland.

The NBA will paint the words, "Black Lives Matter" on all 3 of the courts it will use in the Disney World bubble when the season restarts, according to ESPN.

The words will appear inside both sidelines -- and ESPN says both the NBA and the NBA Players Association are down with the plan.

As we previously reported, several players have publicly expressed concern with joining the NBA bubble instead of focusing their full time and energy on continuing the Black Lives Matter movement.

In fact, Stephen Jackson -- who was close friends with George Floyd -- has called for NBA players to skip the season to keep the momentum going.

But, in the last week, people from both the NBA and NBAPA have been brainstorming ways to use the NBA's platform to continue to spotlight social justice issues ... and the BLM message on the court seems to be addressing those concerns,

Over in the WNBA, the league is also considering using Black Lives Matter on the court when it kicks off at the IMG Academy in Florida, according to ESPN.

There are also rumblings WNBA players could use warm-up shirts with the words, "Say Her Name" written on them as a way to spotlight victims of police brutality including Breonna Taylor.

Disney's making waves after announcing its iconic Splash Mountain ride will be re-themed after the studio's first Black princess in "The Princess and the Frog."

The Mouse House announced Thursday its Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort parks will overhaul Splash Mountain -- which opened in 1989 -- and tell the story of the studio's first Black princess from the 2009 animated film.

Disney said, "We pick-up this story after the final kiss, and join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure -- featuring some of the powerful music from the film -- as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance."

Disney says this has been in the plans since last year and maybe even longer. So, why the change? It has everything to do with Splash Mountain's connection to a racist 1946 film, "Song of the South," which has been criticized for years for its depictions of Southern Black men and how it nostalgically views the antebellum South.

In fact, Disney executive chairman Bob Iger has said in the past the film "is not appropriate in today's world." The film has also never been made available on VHS, DVD nor on the streaming platform Disney+.

Disney has not given a timeline on when these changes will take place.

Barbra Streisand just gave George Floyd's young daughter a gift that's worth its weight in gold -- especially long term -- in the form of stock to a behemoth of a company ... Disney.

6-year-old Gianna Floyd posted about the nice gesture on her personal IG account, saying ... "Thank You @barbrastreisand for my package, I am now a Disney Stockholder thanks to you 🥰🥰🥰." She also threw in a few photos of the official Disney stock certificate(s).

Now, it's unclear how many shares Barbra gave the kid -- but considering she's loaded and went out of her way to get this for Gigi ... something tells us she might've been generous.

Disney shares go for about $115 a pop right now -- and while the Mouse House has been put on ice in the wake of the pandemic ... Wall Street history shows that it's a fairly solid company to invest in over time, people usually make their money back with Mickey and co.

This kindness is just the latest amid an outpouring of love and support for Gianna and the rest of George's family. She's already been offered a full-ride scholarship to Texas Southern University in Houston -- and of course, we know Kanye has set up a college fund for her.

The NBA may be without one of its biggest names when the season resumes in July -- Portland Trail Blazers star Carmelo Anthony says he's on the fence.

Melo's Blazers are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot -- and would need a strong run to make the playoffs.

But, Anthony says he has yet to commit to join the team at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida ... simply because he needs more info about the event before he can make up his mind.

"I'm still up in the air a little bit because I really don't, we don't have all the details," Melo told Ernie Johnson his Twitter show, "#NBATogether."

"We don't know a lot of information, so until we have that, it's hard to just commit to that 100%."

The NBA is planning on bringing the top 22 teams to Orlando to live and play in a bubble-style environment with rigorous testing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some players -- like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo -- are stoked about getting back to work, there are reports of a rift between other stars, who aren't fully on board.

MLS is taking a page from the NBA -- returning to play in July with a tournament at Disney World in Orlando ... and all 26 teams will participate.

Major League Soccer announced the plan Wednesday morning -- the Welcome Back Tournament -- a World Cup-style competition consisting of a group stage followed by knockout rounds.

After the tourney, the teams will play the rest of the 2020 MLS regular season ... but tourney games WILL count toward regular-season standings.

And, get this ... the winning team will earn a spot in the 2021 Concacaf Champions League tournament!

FYI, the CCL tourney is made up of the top teams in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The Welcome Back tourney kicks off on July 8 -- with the Final set for August 11.

All games will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber issued a statement saying, "The opportunity to have all 26 clubs in a controlled environment enables us to help protect the health of our players, coaches and staff as we return to play."

"We also recognize that the death of George Floyd and others has focused our country on issues of racial injustice, inequality and violence against black men and women."

Texas child actor Ike Eisenmann was only 13 years old when he shot to stardom after taking on the role of the harmonica playing orphan alien, Tony -- who uses his psychic abilities and cunning kid smarts to find his way home -- in Disney's 1975 fantasy film, "Escape to Witch Mountain."

Ike Eisenmann was cast alongside Eddie Albert as the helpful dude with an R.V., Jason O'Day ... and of course, Kim Richards (yes, the one from "The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills") as the telepathic sister sidekick, Tia.

Ike went on to act in the 1978 sequel, "Return from Witch Mountain," and can even be spotted in the 2009 remake, "Race to Witch Mountain," featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Disney is taking its first steps to reopen their parks in none other than China next week -- and the takeaway/possible road map for what's to come is simple ... lots of slower lines.

New China TV documented an in-depth tour given by the VP of Operations, Andrew Bolstein, which showed how the park plans to safely operate Monday -- when they'll reopen their doors to the public. Bottom line ... social distancing will be key, literally everywhere.

Right from the get-go, ticketholders will have to wait in line with markers on the ground of where NOT to stand, which automatically creates a distance between people of about a meter or so. Going in, they gotta be wearing face masks, have their temperature checked ... and also present updated medical records essentially proving they're coronavirus-free.

But wait, there's more ... waiting. Once inside, there are a lot more markers on the ground, where people are supposed to stay as they navigate the park. The rides are kinda the same deal -- everyone is spaced out, and they'll even load people onto cars via every other row.

What that means ... each ride will have less people on it than it can normally carry (in order to maintain the appropriate social distancing), so to go on Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney fans might have to wait a lifetime and a half going forward ... more so than usual.

It's unclear if Disneyland (Anaheim) and Disney World (Orlando) will adopt similar measures if/when they decide to restart the breakers, but it's likely their plan will be similar.

Might not be a better time to get on that Fast Pass plan. Yipeee!!!

Demi Lovato opened up in a big way with her former castmates from the Disney show, "Sonny With a Chance" ... describing how a fellow castmate was her inspiration for going to rehab and how her eating disorder made it impossibly cold on the set.

Demi was part of a virtual chat between cast members of 'Sonny' and the spinoff, "So Random!," including Tiffany Thornton, Allisyn Ashley Arm, Sterling Knight, Dough Brochu, Matthew Scott Montgomery, Shayne Topp, Audrey Whitby and Damien Haas.

She reminisced about how Tiffany gave her the strength to enter rehab for the first time, saying, "When I went away to treatment for the first time, you were my biggest inspiration coming out of it because you dealt with all of those pressures of being a woman on TV."

Demi went on to say ... "I looked at that as, 'I wish I had that so bad.' Yes, I probably was happier in my head with whatever I looked like at the time. But, I'm so much happier now with the mentality that you have. I look back now and I'm like, man, it's a shame that we wasted any energy on what we wore on set."

She went on to talk about how she was miserable on the set, in part because she was sleep-deprived and overworked.

And then, she talked priorities... "I'm realizing that as I've gotten older because when I was young, when you start off in the industry as a 7-year-old, 8-year-old, you kind of value your self-worth with your success," she explained. "I have moments all the time where I'm like, Do I want to continue this? Or do I want to pull a Tiffany and move to Texas, have a family and have a farm."

And, there's this ... Demi fessed up as to why her dressing room was a sweltering 98 degrees ... "I had an eating disorder and I was underweight and freezing!"

And, while 'Sonny' is near and dear to Lovato's heart, it's not something that she would want to revisit.

Child actor and Hollywood heir Jason Davis's cause of death was fentanyl ... according to the Medical Examiner.

L.A. County Medical Examiner documents show Jason died from the "effects of fentanyl." No other factors are listed in the report ... but it does say it was an accident.

TMZ broke the story ... Jason was found unresponsive in his bathroom on February 16. Law enforcement sources at the time told us there were items nearby that were consistent with heroin or opioid use ... including burnt tin foil and other paraphernalia.

Based on the ME's report ... the opioid would be fentanyl, and not heroin.

Jason -- known in Hollywood as the voice of Mikey Blumberg on the long-running Disney Channel show, "Recess" -- had battled addiction in the past. In 2011, he was busted and charged for allegedly having heroin on him. Those charges were eventually dropped.

He went on to co-found a charity called Cure Addiction Now, an org he was heavily involved with running. The voice actor was also known for being the grandson of the late Hollywood billionaire moguls, Marvin and Barbara Davis.

Jason was 35.

RIP

Monique Coleman says there's a perfectly good explanation why her old Disney Channel costar, Zac Efron, didn't join in on a big broadcast sing-along ... the almighty Wi-Fi signal.

We talked to the 'High School Musical' alum -- who was one of the former child stars in the hit DC movie series, and who performed "We're All In This Together" Thursday alongside Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale and others -- and she told us why Zac was MIA during the nationally televised performance. Long story short ... dude's probably got a bad signal.

Monique says Zac -- the lead man in the 'HSM' movies -- got on-board at the very last minute, and was only able to introduce the song from a fuzzy video he sent in. The reason he wasn't able to sing along with the crew is because he's likely in a remote part of the world with crappy Internet. Last she heard, ZE was in Papua New Guinea filming for his new Quibi show, "Killing Zac Efron" -- so yeah, he wasn't gonna risk a bad show.

More importantly than that, though, is the fact that Zac is one of the most down-to-earth celebs there is in the biz ... according to Monique, anyway. She says she's not surprised he didn't cave to the Disney pressure to get in on the sing-along ... and did what he realistically could.

Walt Disney World employees are taking it on the chin, hard -- the theme park is about to furlough 43,000 workers as it remains closed due to the coronavirus.

Orlando's Magic Kingdom, which has been shut down since March 16, reached agreements with its workers' unions, and will make the layoffs effective April 19 ... according to Forbes. Most of the employees are security guards and other workers involved in operating the facilities.

The Mouse House says the laid-off workers will keep their health benefits up to one year -- and Disney has agreed to pay for coronavirus testing for any employees who need it.

Of course, it's still unclear when Disney will reopen gates at its parks around the world. The massive park will now be staffed by only 200 people with "essential duties."

Forbes says Disney World is the largest single-site employer in the country ... and the massive layoffs are expected to have a domino effect on the Central Florida economy ... where so many other industries depend on Disney being open to stay in business.