We love soaps. From hair-flipping divas to riffs to legendary cat fights to dumb, hot men wandering around town shirtless for no reason, they have always had a queer sensibility.
But over the years, there have only been a few actual successful gay-themed soap opera stories. Erica Kane’s lesbian daughter Bianca was beloved on All My Children for many years, but she was the exception to the rule. All of these soap stories that tried to go gay broke one of many unwritten rules:
Read on for 9 times soaps broke the roles and got too gay.
Rules broken: Chastity, heteronormativity, too many gays
Lucas almost immediately broke the rules when he was reintroduced in 2014. Confident, sex-positive and assertive, Lucas (Ryan Carnes) had a one-night stand with crooked lab tech Brad (Parry Shen), who was on the cusp of a traditional gay soap love story with sweet nurse Felix (Marc Samuel).
After months of lounging around his sister’s mansion shirtless (and probably only selectively bathing—there was something grimy about the denim shorts he wore) and flirting with both guys, Lucas suggested a threesome. Horny Brad was instantly into it, while Felix realized he wanted a more “traditional” love life and… pulled out at the last second.
Lucas and Brad had a wild weekend of sex, followed by a tumultuous romance and failed marriage, which mostly occurred off-screen. Today, Brad and Felix are minor characters at best and Lucas is presumably out of town.
Rules broken: Too many gays (see next!)
Phillip Chancellor III’s return was much-heralded by the show, since original portrayer and out actor Thom Bierdz returned to the role in 2007 to play a story in which the presumed-dead character returned and came out.
Instead, Phillip showed up at a family barbecue, made his grandmother faint, and came out to his ex, Nina (Tricia Cast). Since the show wouldn’t commit to making any characters homophobic or even incredulous as to Phillip’s reason for faking his death, Phillip’s sexual orientation didn’t bring any conflict and he was relegated to the background, where he eventually faded out of sight forever.
Rules broken: Chastity
At the exact same time Phillip returned from the dead, Adam Newman (Michael Muhney) was faking his blindness to gaslight his family. When his buddy, lawyer Rafe (Yani Gellman), discovered the truth, heretofore straight Adam pretended to have feelings for Rafe and seduced him. The seduction was completely implied, and viewers had to imagine the titillating sexy times.
It was quite clear that Phillip and Rafe were originally slated to fall in love at some point, but both stories were met with such derision by conservative fans that a romance never happened. Adding to the controversy was original Adam actor Chris Engen refusing to play the story and being fired. Adam even clarified later that he was straight, not bisexual. Sure, Jan.
Rules broken: Too soon
The gay panic on The Young And The Restless actually started in 1977, when leading lady Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) made a friend in lesbian Joann Curtis (Kay Heberle). Both single and reeling from divorce, Katherine and Joann moved in together and developed feelings for each other, but Joann was written out quickly. Cooper later said she felt the story was never developed. Katherine is arguably the series’ greatest icon, so it’s a shame the writers pulled away from her queerness.
Rules broken: Chastity, too many gays
One Life To Live was basically one big pride parade in 2009, when Dorian (Robin Strasser) decided to run for mayor against Viki (Erika Slezak). As is the case with all elections, the mayoral race hinged on the gay vote and Dorian decided to quite literally partner with the head of an LGBTQ+ advocacy group in town to win.
After getting engaged to Amelia (Tia Dionne Hodge), Dorian staged a mass gay wedding in the park, where local cop Oliver Fish (out actor Scott Evans) came out and declared his love to Dr. Kyle Lewis (Brett Claywell). While the mass gay wedding was sweet and played earnestly—Kyle and Fish were the most popular thing on the show—fans didn’t take to Dorian marrying a woman for convenience. Dorian won the election after Viki conceded, annulled her sham of a marriage, and Kyle and Fish were written out in early 2010.
Rules broken: Too soon
In 1983, Devon McFadden (Tricia Pursley) started seeing therapist Lynn Carson (Donna Pescow) after her failed marriage. Devon started to develop feelings for Lynn, but Lynn didn’t reciprocate and left town after only a few months. Pescow told EW: “There were people who didn’t like I was playing the part, but I think they would have been angry at anybody playing the part. It was the early days of this being presented in any way.”
Rules broken: Chastity
Okay, everyone’s first time is different and “losing your virginity” is a construct originally designed to shame women into waiting for marriage, but we get it. Soaps have always leaned into the idea of virginity for teen characters. So the nebulously college-aged Luke (out actor Van Hansis) and Noah (Jake Silbermann) were always going to have a “first time.”
But for that first time to be after a screaming match and in a narrow shower? Ladies, shower sex requires some maneuvering and skill! The 2009 scenes were shot mostly neck-up to show the boys “passionately” kissing.
They then went downstairs, where they had ice cream with Luke’s grandma, Lucinda Walsh (Elizabeth Hubbard). Nobody expected As The World Turns to explore the nuance of the gay v-card, but didn’t any gay on the set think, “hey, shower sex is more of an intermediate-to-advanced act?”
Luke and Noah were pretty sexless after that, and Noah was eventually written out so Luke could have a more adult relationship with Dr. Reid Oliver (Eric Sheffer Stevens), who got run over by a train before they could consummate their relationship.
Rules broken: Too many gays
Days Of Our Lives fans know John Black (Drake Hogestyn). He’s the mysterious action hero with a heart of gold, a man without a past who loves his shrink wife (and the devil herself) Marlena (Deidre Hall). In 2014, the show needed to shake up its resident married gay couple, Will and Sonny (Guy Wilson and Freddie Smith), so they introduced closeted baseball star Paul Narita, who had a previous secret relationship with Sonny.
After journalist Will wrote a story on Paul coming out, the two had a one-night stand, unaware of their mutual Sonny connection! Paul was then revealed to be the long-lost son of John from his priesthood days (don’t ask).
Years later, in 2018, slimy and proud Leo Stark (out actor Greg Rikaart) was paid to seduce Sonny and ruin him. His mother, Diana, was John’s former girlfriend and claimed John was Leo’s father, but it turned out to be a lie. Today, Paul makes guest appearances, while Leo periodically returns to cause mayhem. Will and Sonny are once again married—and off the show.
Beyond pissing off fans, Days is jeopardizing a huge part of its legacy. Between 2012 and 2015, it won four consecutive GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Daily Drama.
Rules broken: Every. Single. One.
Passions was so much more than “the one with the talking doll.” It was a glacially slow, intensely repetitive, often hilarious disaster of a soap opera that gave new meaning to the world “problematic” in its later years.
Perhaps the most problematic character was Vincent (Philip Jeanmarie), an intersex tabloid reporter who was originally featured in a “down low” story with romantic hero Chad (Charles Divins). But Vincent would soon become the show’s primary villain, able to change his identity to Valerie (played by actress Daphnee Duplaix), sexually abusing and murdering multiple characters (with these scenes often played for camp value) and ultimately seducing his father, Julian (Ben Masters), while under the Valerie persona. The wildest scenes came when Vincent gave birth to Julian’s baby on his mother’s kitchen table in 2007.
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Nice!
I’m glad it’s come so far but it will never be far enough until it’s normalized into the show without it being the OMG moment.
i still watch y&r & watched as the world turns. i remember most of these. i was too young for katherine’s gay moment, but she was legendary. it broke my heart when she died. but the other stuff- loved it. philip chancellor still makes occasional appearances. adam is still on the show & was recast, not shocked that’s why. greg rikkart is on y&r now & he’s great.
as the world turns was a great show, i miss it.
That was a pretty hot scene with Luke and Noah considering time frame and it was daytime TV.
Guess Ryan Phillippe as Billy Douglas on One Life to Live wasn’t TOO gay, but that’s OK! Lol
Who the hell cares! Never once have touched that “crap”.
LOL. Thanks for taking the time to comment on something you admittedly know nothing about and have no interest in. Now, go eat something you hate just so you can complain about it.
I was in college and had a break right when “General Hospital” was on, and that was the season where Luke and Laura finally tied the knot. I watched all season long, but not after that. “Dynasty” in the evening, I watched the season where the Joan Collins and Linda Evans characters were going after each other tooth and nail, but then there was the cliffhanger of the latter throwing the former over the railing of a balcony (or whatever), and in the first episode of the new season, they were all sweetness and light to one another. No more of that either. A clever person once wrote that a soap opera is a show in which a woman needs 11 months to have a premature baby. That’s about the long and the short of it for me
Those were the days! I remember queens dishing each other, calling each other Mary Doogan, Mary Sue, and I was called lady Erica Eastmount for my name – Eric Osterberg.
Leo basically tried to rape Xander. He was questionable consent-wise with Chad. too. He’s not someone we want to claim.
I love Elizabeth Hubbard (the actress who played Lucinda Walsh)
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9 times soap operas got too gay for daytime TV – Queerty
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