What daytime stars are gay
'Young and the Restless's Fen Reveal Doesn't Make Up for Its Poor Footpath Record
As a closeted same-sex attracted teen, the world of daytime soap operas meant everything to me. From an early age, any time I got a rare glimpse into the seemingly mature and elder world of an afternoon soap opera, it felt quite literally like a window into another planet. (No pun intended.) And because daytime soaps are consistently mocked and derided in pop culture since their target audience is still largely stay-at-home women, consuming them in confidential felt like a sordid, rebellious act. In a world where I had no shortage of people also mocking and deriding my own interests, I felt a sense of kinship with daytime soap operas: other people made fun of us, so we might as successfully be friends. When I was in the sixth grade, I began what would become a extended love affair with The Young and the Restless.
I like to think that the soap one chooses as their own in fact chooses them: I’d consumed peeks of various daytime soap operas for years, never seeing much beyond an episode or two because I had to return to academy the next day, sniffle or not. But then there’s the soap that transcends the casual glances, th
Celebrate Pride Month With a Salute to Soaps’ Out and Proud LGBTQ+ Stars
There are those who question why there has to be an LGBTQ+ Self-acceptance Month. “We don’t get a Straight Pride Month,” they argue. But they don’t have to come out as straight, it’s assumed that they are (and that, unless told otherwise, everyone is). They haven’t had to battle for “permission” to marry the person that they treasure, it was freely given to them. They haven’t had to live in fear of what the world would think of them — or, worse, do to them — if their hetero status was revealed. And they don’t at this very moment have what LGBTQ+ people do: more than 550 proposed bills targeting their community in hopes of silencing it, stripping it of its hard-won rights and driving it back into the closet.
So there ya go. That’s why there has to be an LGBTQ+ Pride Month — and in 2025 as much, if not more, than ever.
On this occasion, Soaps wants to celebrate its out and confident stars, the actors whose disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or trans or nonbinary status has served to encourage and empower others. It’
On Dec. 14, actor/writer/director Kit Williamson, a young veteran of Broadway, will premiere the first episode of his new, gay Web series Eastsiders. The auteur describes his baby as a dark comedy about the aftermath of infidelity.
“Cal has recently discovered that Thom, his crush of four years, has been cheating on him for months,” Williamson said, in an interview with Windy City Times.
“Things explode between them, and their relationship is turned upside down. My entire life, I always assumed that infidelity was a deal breaker, but I also believe that there is such a thing as unconditional love. I wanted to explore this tension because I ponder it’s really rich and complex. Ultimately, this is a character driven story. I wanted to form complicated, flawed gay characters because I think far too often gay characters are depicted as archetypes, if they’re depicted at all.”
Williamson co-stars as Cal in the series. He plays opposite Van Hansis, who some viewers will fondly recall from his long running role as Luke on the now-cancelled CBS soap opera As the World Turns.
As the World Turns broke land when Luke was associated onscreen
10 Milestone Moments in Lgbtq+ TV History
July 28, 2013— -- intro: Univision made history this week when it aired a same-sex wedding on the telenovela "Amores Verdaderos" ("True Loves"). It's the first wedding of its gentle (the, you know, lgbtq+ kind) to be aired on the network. It was hella dramatic too, featuring lingering looks and straw hats and matching ties and a rotund pug in a tiny suit.
Buuuuut, it's not as if this exists in a vacuum -- a lot had to possess happened to get Fusion's Papa network to this moment. So let's peek back on some of the many milestone moments in how gays and lesbians have been portrayed on television. (Stay tuned for part II of our Gay Milestone Moments in TV later this week -- there's a lot!)
We may have far to go, but we've come a long way, baby.
quicklist: 1title: First lgbtq+ person on an American reality show text: Filmed in 1971 and first aired in early 1973, PBS' "An American Family" followed the lives of the Loud family, including eldest son Lance, who came out to his family during the show's run and, thus, became what is widely believed to be the first openly g
Living Out Loud: A Salute to Soaps’ LGBTQ+ All-Stars [PHOTOS]
Love Wins
In honor of LGBTQ+ Pride month, Soaps.com is saluting the stars of The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Beyond the Gates and General Hospital who are living their truth.
Greg Rikaart
In 2013, the Young & Restless and Days of Our Lives leading man (as Kevin Fisher and Leo Stark, respectively) came out obeying the Supreme Court’s decisions in favor of same-sex marriage and equality. Since 2015, the Emmy winner has been married to writer/producer Robert Sudduth (Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies), with whom he has a son, Montgomery.
Joanna Johnson
Just before Bold & Beautiful revealed that Bill Spencer’s sister Karen is a lesbian, her portrayer toldTV Guide that she is, too. For years, “I was so worried I wouldn’t be employable as an actress if people knew,” she said, “or that I wouldn’t be believable in love affair stories. I had to deal with a lot of self-loathing.” Now a TV producer, Johnson has been married since 2008 to club promoter Michelle Agnew, with whom she has two children.