Dove Cameron Opens Up About Being Queer Amid Anti-LGBTQ Legislation: ‘It’s a Very, Very Scary Time Right Now’

Dove Cameron first rose to fame for her work playing the title roles on the Disney Channels Liv and Maddie followed by her starring role in the Descendants franchise.

Now 27, she returns for the second season of Schmigadoon! as Jenny Banks, a character based on Sally Bowles from Cabaret. The sophomore season of the Apple series, titled Schmicago!, is inspired by Broadway musicals of the 1960 and 70s.

It was transformative, an education awakening for so many of us, Cameron says of the legacy of Cabaret on this weeks episode of the Just for Variety podcast. Especially, Im sure you can relate, but growing up as a queer person and seeing queer representation in an environment that was also so sexually liberated those two things coupled together were really healing and necessary to see growing up for me to become the person that I am. I know for so many other people, they feel the same.

I caught up with Cameron over Zoom video from her part-time home in New York City. We talked about why her record label agreed to film a second music video for Breakfast, going public about her mental health issues and her message to LGBTQ youth as anti-queer bills continue to find momentum in state legislatures.

While Camerons music video for Breakfast has more than four million views on YouTube, its not the original vid intended for the single.

What basically had happened was I filmed another music video for Breakfast first before I left for Vancouver [to shoot Schmigadoon!], Cameron says. And it was good. It was very sexy, pop girly. It was adequate and I liked it. But when we were working on the edit, the news of Roe vs. Wade broke, and I was in Canada. I was just feeling so desolate. I hadnt felt that low in a while. I had no hope or faith in our government.

Her label asked Cameron if she wanted to shoot a new Breakfast video to better express her feelings. The result is a video featuring a gender-swap story highlighting the fight for womens rights and equality.

It was heavy, it was weighing heavy on me, Cameron, who is currently working on finishing her first album, says of the abortion ban. My mom actually flew out because I struggle with depression like so many people do. And I was starting to feel that familiar dark cloud thing where when its creeping back up and youre like, No, no, no, not right now, I need to work. I was like, Mom, I actually think I really need you out here.

Cameron opened up about her mental health issues in an emotional and very raw Instagram post in May. She wrote about struggling with depression and dysphoria.

I just wanted to open up a dialogue about an ongoing conversation Im having with myself in hopes that somebody would be like, Oh, okay, because me, too. Its been confusing and Im glad to see that someone else is speaking about it publicly so that I can feel like I can access it more,' Cameron says. My father took his own life, and so suicide has been a big part of my life for a long time. And Im very much in the camp ofsecrets will kill you.

And I think that the more that you believe you have to play a role for other people, or you cannot live as yourself or you have no outlet for the pain to find its way out, it never ends well. It never ends well. I make it a very personal crusade to attempt to give people permission and safety to talk about where theyre at while also making it clear that Im a safe space, but not every space is safe.

Cameron came out as queer almost two years ago during an Instagram Live. Her hit, Boyfriend, has become an out-and-proud queer anthem. We talked about the recent surge in anti-LGBTQ bills being pushed through state legislatures: I would love to say I feel incredibly hopeful, and everythings gonna be fine, but I think that its a very, very scary time right now.

But then she insists that the hate is not more powerful than the LGBTQ community: Its just louder sometimes.

Listen to the full Just for Variety interview with Cameron above or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.