I never watched Full House (1987-95), the TGIF warmedy about three dads raising three girls in a gay-free San Francisco: it was on Friday nights, when I had other things to do, and besides, it sounded awful. Although John Stamos as Uncle Jesse was quite a hunk.
(In those days, you knew about all of the popular tv shows, even if you had never seen them).
And I never watched the sequel Fuller House (2016-2020), about the grown-up girls sharing a house: it sounded awful, and besides, Candace Cameron Bure (focus character DJ Tanner) made it very clear that she didn't like gay people and would not permit them on her show. Presumably she meant gay characters, or did she check all 100-plus members of the cast and crew for rainbow flags?
Apparently the homophobia didn't stop with Candace. According to a review, Fuller House was a "thoroughly offensive mess," with "gays are hilarious" jokes every episode: "we're expected to laugh at the mere suggestion that a character might be experiencing same-sex attraction."
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Then why, according to the fan wiki, was DJ's son Max Fuller a "closeted gay boy?"
Time to check Max's character arc.
In Seasons 1-2, he is a femme boy with a gay-subtext relationship with his friend Taylor (Lucas Jaye) and occasional references to same-sex interest, such as a crush on Blake Sheldon.
Then in the Season 2 Christmas episode, he meets the Girl of His Dreams, Rose. Taylor becomes his competitor for her attention.
Max and Rose pursue an on-off romance through Season 6.
So, did the writers actually plan for Max to be gay, then change their minds when Candace yelled at them, or was it just a matter of "isn't same-sex desire hilarious?"
We can get a clue by checking to see if Elias Harger is gay in real life.
According to his IMDB biography, Elias grew up in Denver and Atlanta, where he participated in community theater from the age of five, starring in Shrek: the Musical and A Christmas Carol (no, he didn't play Scrooge).
He moved on screen in 2014, playing Peter Pan, a boy who remembers his past lives (The Ghost Inside My Child), and a mysterious boy kidnapped by a serial killer (Popsy)
In 2015, a boy haunted by the ghost of his evil grandmother (Granny).
In 2016, he was cast as Max in Fuller House, but he also found time for more dark, disturbing movies to counteract the homophobic family-friendly smarm.
In 2017, Elias played a boy who disapproves of the new baby in the family. If they're going to bring in new kids, he'll bring in a new mother (The Arrival).
In 2018, the son of a female funeral director with a dark secret -- she likes her men like she likes her popsicles -- cold and hard (Dead Love).
His only post-Fuller role is in the animated Felix and the Hidden Treasure (2021). Felix (Elias, Daniel Brochu) and his talking cat go off in search of his missing father, and run afoul of baddies dressed as superheroes.
As of this writing, Elias is attending Georgia State University in Atlanta, majoring in music, hoping to become a concert pianist, or else a pianist on a cruise ship.
So no specifically gay roles, but there aren't a lot of gay roles for kids. What about gay in real life? First, check out Adam Hagenbuch, beefcake here and cock after the break.
