Fans who grew up watching Jessie on the Disney Channel were thrilled when two of the show’s stars appeared to be dating in a new video—but it seems the affectionate clip was just an inside joke.
Gossip started swirling after former Jessie co-stars Karan Brar, 25, and Josie Totah, 23—who played Ravi Ross and Stuart Wooten in the series, respectively—were seen cuddling and kissing in a now-deleted TikTok. However, Totah posted a follow-up video on Monday, Jan. 13, dismissing rumors of a romance.
“It was a joke,” she insisted in the clip. “It was a joke, it was a joke.”
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“WE ARE TWO PLATONIC BEST FRIENDS WHO DANCED A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN,” Totah captioned the video.
Commenters were quick to express their disappointment.
“and this is why I have trust issues,” quipped one person.
“I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS IS A JOKE,” declared a second.
“girl well…now you have to date! the people have spoken,” another fan declared.
“Girl it’s TOO late… I’m already planning the wedding,” a fourth fan agreed.
“Ok but hear us out….what if it wasnt,” someone else wanted to know.
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In a 2018 essay for TIME, Totah publicly came out as a trans woman. As she explained, growing up as a child actor, people would assume she was gay.
“I almost felt like I owed it to everybody to be that gay boy,” she wrote.
“But that has never been the way I think of myself,” Totah added. “In the past, I’ve halfway corrected people by telling them I identify as LGBTQ. I wasn’t ready to be more specific. I was afraid I wouldn’t be accepted, that I would be embarrassed, that the fans who knew me from the time when I acted in a Disney show would be confused.”
She continued, “But I realized over the past few years that hiding my true self is not healthy. I know now, more than ever, that I’m finally ready to take this step toward becoming myself. I’m ready to be free. So, listen up y’all: You can jump on or jump off. Either way this is where I’m heading.”
“My pronouns are she, her and hers,” the actress clarified. “I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female. And my name is Josie Totah.”
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