Hilary Duff is the star of Hulu's How I Met Your Father spinoff and in PRIDE's latest interview with the cast, the actress/singer/icon opened about her long history with her gay fans. 

Duff, who rose to fame with Disney Channel's hit 2001 series Lizzie McGuire, says that her gay fans were some of the first people to take her career seriously.

"I've felt that support for many, many years," she recalls. "Starting with Lizzie McGuire and then having the support system throughout my music career was the biggest thing where I was truly fighting to get anyone to take me seriously as a singer. I think the gay community was a huge push for me, of them being behind me and me not even really knowing until being at my concerts and stuff and being like, 'oh, wow, like now press has to pay attention to this, because look who's showing up for me, or like look who's blasting my sh*t.'"

The Disney Channel series is certainly the origin point for her popularity among millennial gay men. "I think Lizzie McGuire hit at the right moment where people were vulnerable and learning who they were," she says. "I was just along for that moment as well, 'cause I was at the same time in my life. And then my music, you know, was impactful, and [about] becoming who you are and being able to own that. They've stuck by my side through lots of breaks and children and some good projects and some bad projects, you know."

All of her fans helped her get to where she is today. "I just am so deeply appreciative of all of the support that I've had since Lizzie McGuire," she says, the adds with a laugh, "but obviously the gays are the most fun."

Duff leads a fresh-faced group of friends on Hulu's How I Met Your Mother sequel, including a newly-divorced lesbian character exploring the dating scene of the Big Apple for the first time. This sitcom friend group includes different races, ethnicities, and sexualities, a long-overdue – and true to reality – upgrade from the original. 

"In this day and age, there's no way to not include that," she points out. "That is our normal and TV needs more of that. It's that time. Getting to be on Hulu, and not just race and sexuality, but just getting to act 30 and do things that 30-year-olds get to do," Duff is so proud to see it.

New episode of How I Met Your Father premiere Tuesdays on Hulu. Watch PRIDE's interview with the cast and showrunners below: