KayCee Stroh famously starred as Martha Cox, an overweight but fun-loving girl in the group who loved to dance. Although there was nothing about the character to be disliked, Stroh revealed that the movie fans still shammed Disney Channel for casting someone “unhealthy.”
In an interview with People magazine, the actress recalled her friends, mentors, and even dance competition owners telling her that her talent was overshadowed by her physical appearance. She was being told that since she didn’t have the “ideal body” she’ll never be accepted by the industry.
Stroh remembered someone had written to Disney Channel, criticizing them for casting “someone as unhealthy as myself,” and claimed she was a bad role model. She defended the “unhealthy” comment saying she’s been dancing for 5 hours every day from a very young age. She’d often sleep on the studio floor and listen to the beats.
“It was so devastating to see how people just prejudge others based on something as shallow as their outer appearance while they’re here on this earth,” the actress added.
Explaining the reason behind her weight gain before joining the cast of HSM, she admitted to having had knee surgery and gaining 50-lb in the aftermath.
Nevertheless, she would never belittle the fact that the High School Musical franchise gave her recognition and made her feel “seen” for the first time. “My whole life I was a bigger, muscular, curvy girl,” she said. Stroh admitted that the one thing about herself that she tried to hold back was the thing that made her stand out.
In hindsight, she’s glad to have experienced body shaming at an early age because that helped her quickly build up empathy for others. “Healed people don’t hurt people,” Stroh said.
She hopes that people who’ve had similar experiences as her will heal from their inner trauma and “generational body trauma” that was passed on to them. “I hope you find happiness and realize someday that there’s so much more to life than that,” she added.
