In May, Hurricane Leslie flew into the Fairmont Crest Country Club and blew up Ted and Nicole’s world as they knew it. The month is over, and the husband and wife have barely talked. Yes, the drama and the truths (and the cover-ups) Leslie unleashed were devastating, destructive, and her victims are still picking up the pieces. For a month filled with unpredictable performances, Trisha Mann-Grant is the Beyond the Gates performer of the Month for May.
May 2025 Performer of the Month
The Top Spot
Grant has an uncanny ability to keep characters and fans on their toes. How can she be so fierce and unrelenting as Leslie Thomas? Or should we say Sherry Carter? Anna? Nurse Lulu Lenhart? She made us believe that Leslie can be both victim and villain simultaneously.
Leslie commanded that room at Ted’s and Nicole’s anniversary party. She didn’t back down and listen to her daughter, who urged her to let go of this vendetta. She went through with it and got her revenge on Ted (then Maurice Johnson), the revenge she had planned for who knows how long.
After she left the anniversary party in shambles, she walked right into the Dupree den of lions, continuing to tell her truth (mixed in with some lies). She was the victim here, not Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) and certainly not Ted. She would be heard, and that’s exactly what she made sure happened.
READ THIS: BTG Performer of the Month for April 2025: Ambyr Michelle.
Later, she even confronted Nicole IN HER HOUSE. With every single one of these conversations and confrontations, Leslie was steel with just a hint of vulnerability and her tremendous use of sarcasm. Grant is gold on this show.
And then, when you understand why she did this all, Leslie does something beyond cruel. She kicked her daughter to the curb for not having her back. Or so we thought. Even though she’s coming off cold, cruel, and calculating, she also seems like she’s pushing Eva away to give her the life she deserves with Ted (now Keith D. Robinson).
In the days and weeks since the party, Leslie has dealt with the fallout of her actions, but not in any sort of criminal way…yet. But the friends she used and snowed want her to burn in hell. And she even cast suspicion on Laura’s hit-and-run on Eva (Ambyr Michelle)!
But none of these actions are out of character. Leslie is that perfect storm of emotions controlling her and causing her to make interesting decisions. Grant is just the actress who can pull all of this off—the hurt, the hate, the incessant need to get hers. Oh, and those wigs. Those wonderful wigs.
The actress is a joy to watch, which makes Grant the perfect person to be Soap Hub’s Performer of the Month for May.
