Passions Criticized for DOWN-LOW Storyline

[dawn9476]

I can't wait to see the backlash if they have Chad go get "cured" like Ted Haggard.

[RionPassions]

Like I said before, Chad will end up with his gay lover in the end.

Whitney won't stand his cheating, so she'll dump him. Kay will dump Fox around the same time, so Fox and Whitney will reconnect. Chad will hook up with his gay lover. Charity and Miguel will reunite. And Kay will end the show how she started, bitter and alone!!

[bellcurve]

You act as though they haven't done that in the past 8 years they've been on the air.

[Terpsichore]

Looks like Mr. Reilly is once again trying to shock people into tuning in. What a desperate man.

[DaysnPassionsFan]

This whole storyline is just another one of JER's "Shock and Awe" storylines.

[psychofan]

THANK YOU!

[Brandeis]

GLAAD has been asleep at the wheel for years now, making mountains out of molehills and ignoring real issues.

[bellcurve]

Amen!

[mateo22]

Woop, woot! Hands down, another great post by Toups. Amen!! Bring on 2/27/07~

[JER Soaps Fan]

Any publicity is good publicity.

Way to go, JER!! Love ya man!!

(Oh, sorry about all those anti-JER posts when "Passions" was canceled! You MORE than made up for it with MeanSheridan, the Fancy attacker intrigue and the AMAZING "night stalker" freakshow! We cool, homeslice?!!!! )

[psychofan]

[MarkH]

Honestly, I think criticism of this storyline is missing some important beats.

1. For those who say the gay/bisexual angle came out of left field are ignoring the fact that this is often how family/friends feel. The same-sex attraction is so hidden, so denied, that some people claim they never had a clue.

2. It is very easy, in your 20s (which is where Chad is) to deny your sexuality to yourself. So, if you are able to have sex with a woman--maybe even make a baby with her--you must be straight, right? The self-denial lasts until you finally can no longer deny.

3. To be clear, and this comes from Divins' interview in the 2/27 SOD, the excuses that he's not gay--he's just addicted to sex--are meant to be EXCUSES...self-delusions to further perpetuate the denial of his bisexual or gay nature.

To whit, Divins is quoted as saying "He's a guy who is like, 'I'm not gay'...That's the last thing that this kid from LA would ever think of himself. Now he's put in this situation where he has these feelings and wants what he can't describe in any other way than as just addiction to sex."

Later, Divins expresses that Chad is conflicted with his sexuality and what it all means...he can't get enough of having sex with a guy, and he's trying to figure out what it all means...how it separates from his feelings for his wife...

Honestly, I think this is a pretty honest (not sensationalistic) portrayal of a man who has been in denial, but for whom the sexual attraction to a man can no longer be put down. I'm impressed that Passions is going with it. Had the show been given a chance, I think stories like this might actually have given it a new lease on life.

[KLN]

Oh, Lord! LoL

You're still allowed to dislike like you were seeing before. Just because you're enjoying his work now doesn't mean the sh!t from before must be forgotten.

[bellcurve]

My problem with this story is, not the fact that Chad is having an affair with a man, it's that Jimmy Reilly inists on being socially irresponsible with every social issue he's ever told. He gets off on inaccuracy and not playing EVERY beat of the story as it should be told.

I'm curious as to how this will play out, I admit, but I don't trust Reilly with Chad's "DL" storyline.

[nassaunew]

Chad's in his early 30s.