As an openly gay artist, Troye Sivan has done his part to connect to his LGBTQ fans, inspire them to be proud about who they are, and even, on occasion, help them come out publicly. But once upon a time, way before his days in the limelight, Troye was looking up to other artists to help him accept himself. For him, one of those people was Miley Cyrus.

The 21-year-old recently sat down with BuzzFeed to answer a series of random questions, including, “Who was the first LGBTQ entertainer or public figure that impacted you?”

“The first one that actually mattered to me who has since come out as not straight is Miley Cyrus,” he answered. “When I was 13 and watching Hannah Montana, I thought she was the coolest person in the world and she wrote a song called ‘My Heart Beats For Love.' She said in an interview that it was about her gay best friend. I was like, ‘Oh my god, Miley Cyrus has a gay best friend. Why am I not that person? If everyone in the world rejects me, I can just go become friends with Miley Cyrus.’”

Miley herself responded to Troye’s sweet story on Tuesday (September 6), posting a screenshot of an Out Magazine article about the video and writing, “Thank you for being brave Mistaaaa @troyesivan ❤️💙💜💛💚 inspired by your beautiful words to continue my work / purpose.”

Both Miley and Troye have come a long way since choosing to be open about their sexuality, and it’s safe to say their actions are continuing to inspire their fans and each other.