Watch: Alyson Stoner Was Seen as 'Unsafe' for Kids, Fired from TV Show After Coming Out

The baseless claim that LGBTQ+ people are somehow dangerous for children is nothing new; in a recent interview, former Disney Channel star Alyson Stoner said that, earlier in their career, they lost a job on a kids show after coming out, according to People Magazine.

Speaking with Spencer Hunt – a.k.a. Spencewuah – on Hunt's podcast "I'm Literally Screaming" the former child actor, who uses they/them pronouns, recalled the experience of losing a job for having come out.

"The reason I ended up doing it was because my girlfriend at the time, we reached a point in our relationship where it felt like it was a disservice to her for her to be hidden," the "Cheaper by the Dozen" star recalled. "Like, that, that didn't feel good for her, it didn't feel fair."

"And even though there were other like pressures and considerations for me to be public," Stoner went on to add, "I felt like, OK, I wanna ... I wanna do this."

Stoner came out in an essay for Teen Vogue in 2018, People Magazine recalled. In the essay, Stoner explained that their single, newly released at that time, had been inspired by a female love interest.

Stoner charted the progression of the relationship in the essay, from "hang[ing] out" and "sending good morning texts" to sharing dinner and watching TV together – specifically, "Orange is the New Black."

"Then we vented and supported each other," Stoner wrote. "Then cuddled. Then kissed and kissed some more. OK, we were in a relationship. I fell in love with a woman."

The onetime co-host of "Mike's Super Short Show" on the Disney Channel recalled seeking advice from the father of The Jonas Brothers, Kevin Jonas Sr., who was their manager.

"He's a former pastor and so I was like, 'OK, I know that there's a potential risk here,' and he was very loving and supportive and helpful in me understanding that like, there are risks if I do this,'" Stoner told Spencewuah, adding that they understood coming out "could affect not only people's perceptions, but also like, hireability for jobs."

Those fears were not unfounded.

"I did end up getting fired from a children's show because they felt that I was unsafe, now that they knew I was queer, to be around kids," Stoner recounted. "So there was like, definitely discrimination."

Homophobic conservatives have long borne false witness against sexual minorities with claims that LGBTQ+ people "recruit," assault, or somehow "turn" children gay. This narrative recently erupted as Florida lawmakers were pushing the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which prohibits classroom acknowledgement of LGBTQ+ people and the issues affecting them. Proponents of the measure accused sexual minorities of "grooming" children – a term outlining forms of sexual exploitation and abuse – for seeking to ensure that LGBTQ+ students, staff, and teachers would be welcome in schools, rather than marginalized and silenced.

The word has come to be used more broadly, as anti-gay conservatives have launched boycotts and social media attacks against corporations that support Pride events or offer Pride-themed merchandise in an effort, as one anti-LGBTQ+ influencer put it, to make Pride "toxic" to business.

Watch Stoner's interview on "I'm Literally Screaming" below. (Note: The discussion about coming out begins at about the 51-minute mark.)