Joshua Bassett: 5 Things To Know About The ‘HSMTMTS’ Star & Olivia Rodrigo’s Rumored Ex
Joshua Bassett burst onto the scene as the lead in ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ and has made a name for himself in the music industry. Find out more!
If you’ve been on TikTok in the past year, it’s likely you know the name Joshua Bassett. The 20-year-old California native is a rising star in Hollywood. Not only was he cast as Ricky in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, but he’s written and released his own original music outside of the hit Disney+ show. Along with his professional pursuits, Joshua’s love life has made headline in recent months, particularly his rumored relationship with HSMTMTS co-star, Olivia Rodrigo. Read on to find out more about Joshua!
1. He stars as Ricky in ‘HSMTMTS’.
Joshua, who was in a community theatre production of High School Musical at the age of 7, was cast as the male lead in the Disney+ series, which dropped in 2018. While the first season saw him tackle some of the hits from the original movie, he opened up during an exclusive interview about what fans can expect in season two, including his performance of Zac Efron’s legendary “Bet On It.” He said, “It was so iconic. I was like, ‘I can’t believe they’re letting me do this. This is amazing.’ Literally, I watched the YouTube video of Zac Efron doing it like 30 times.” He added, “They were like, you’re going to sing it live. So I was like, okay, you want me to run around the entire room, roll over the bed, dunk a basketball, and also sing live? Got it. So I was literally — for like the 2-3 weeks before — I ran every night on the treadmill. I did at least 3 passes of the song where I would sing it on the treadmill. When we shot it, it was a good time.”
2. Josh was rumored to have dated both Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter.
Joshua was previously linked in a supposed love triangle involving co-star Olivia Rodrigo, 18, and fellow Disney darling Sabrina Carpenter, 22. Olivia’s record breaking song, “drivers license” turned into one of the biggest conspiracy theories of 2021, as fans attempted to decipher apparent references to Joshua and Sabrina. Nevertheless, neither Josh or Olivia have ever confirmed their relationship.
3. He also seemingly inspired Olivia’s music.
Despite the lack of hard evidence, fans were adamant that Josh inspired a number of track’s on Olivia’s May 2021 debut album Sour. One song in particular, “traitor”, is about a past lover who is now a “traitor” for taking only “two weeks” to date someone new. “You betrayed me / And I know that you’ll never feel sorry / For the way I hurt, yeah / You talked to her when we were together / Loved you at your worst but that didn’t matter / It took you two weeks to go off and date her / Guess you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor,” Olivia sang in one verse. It came a few months after Olivia spoke publicly about her songwriting style, and the aforementioned rumored love triangle. “I’m a super specific songwriter,” she said, citing how “broad storytelling just isn’t fun in art medium,” But, she said she’s also “gone back and made revisions to make it a little less specific because sometimes” because she feels that gossip and “drama” diminishes the song.
4. Josh has been open about his sexuality.
In May 2021, Josh admitting that he finds singer/actor Harry Styles “hot,” adding, “My entire life people have told me my sexuality. People have shamed me for things they know nothing about.” He also wrote, “it’s okay to still be figuring out who you are.” The ambiguous statement confused some fans, as one asked, “is he coming out or just showing support? I’m lost.” In one TikTok, Joshua half jokingly said, “I guess this is also my coming-out video.” Fans took to Twitter to discuss whether the actor had officially come out as queer, or if he was possibly hinting that he’s bisexual.
5. He has written and released original music.
Josh signed a record deal in 2020, and began writing and releasing his own original content. His first single “Common Sense” dropped in April 2020, and was followed by “Anyone Else” in July. He then dropped a self-titled debut EP in March 2021 with the lead single, “Lie Lie Lie.”