Former Disney Channel Star Claims Fans 'Shamed' Network for Casting Her Because She Was 'Unhealthy'

KayCee Stroh, one of the actresses who starred in Disney Channel's High School Musical, is opening up about the body-shaming she endured following her role in the film.

Stroh, now 40, was only 19 when she was cast in 2006's High School Musical, in which she starred as brainy hip-hop dancer Martha Cox. But despite breaking down barriers by representing plus-size women everywhere, Stroh now reveals it wasn't always easy.

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In a new interview with People published Friday, Dec. 13, Stroh said she often "felt very alone" while paving her way through the industry, after spending her entire life being a "bigger, muscular, curvy girl."

But aside from her dancing skills that earned her the gig, Stroh remembers being counted out by viewers over her appearance.

She even recalled one instance when someone wrote to Disney Channel to shame the network for casting "someone as unhealthy as myself," calling her a bad role model for their audience.

"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," she explained in the interview after stating, "If they only had taken the time to get to know me and realize that I grew up dancing five hours a day, and that wasn’t at all the situation."

Following the success of HSM, Stroh starred in the sequels High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Many years later, she appeared in the reboot series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

During the interview, Stroh also revealed that just before the now-iconic Disney Channel movies, she underwent knee surgery and dealt with a blood clot, leading to a 50-pound weight gain.

"I'm glad it happened when I was young and fresh in the industry because I really learned quickly to build empathy for others," she explained. Stroh also expressed her hope that those who once criticized her "can someday find happiness and heal their inner trauma, or the generational body trauma that was passed on to them."

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