Soap operas are filled with catfights and quips, but in real life, bullying is not okay. Several soap stars from your favorite daytime soap operas — The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless — are taking a stand on Spirit Day.
What is Spirit Day, you may ask? It’s an annual day of awareness observed on the third Thursday of October. Canadian teenager Brittany McMillian started Spirit Day in response to widely reported suicides of gay school students in the year 2010. Promoted by GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), supporters wear the color purple as they stand against bullying. It is done to honor LGBTQ victims of suicide.
Soaps addressed the issue of gay teens when One Life to Live introduced the character of Billy Douglas, played by Ryan Phillippe in 1992. Other gay characters on soaps include DAYS’ Will Horton (Chandler Massey), GH’s Brad Cooper (Parry Shen), and Y&R’s Tessa (Cait Fairbanks). B&B featured Maya (born Myron) Avant (Karla Mosley), who is transgender.
GH’s official Twitter account posted, “It’s National Bullying Prevention Month. Join #GeneralHospital and @ABCNetwork to take a stand against bullying and #ChooseKindness. Click here to learn more.”
B&B’s Instagram account shared, “Together we wear purple in a stand against bullying and to support LGBTQ youth. 💜 Join us in celebrating #SpiritDay! 🌟 For more information, visit GLAAD.
Daytime soap stars who wore purple today and posted about Spirit Day in Instagram stories and on other social platforms include Annika Noelle (Hope, B&B), Live With Kelly and Ryan’s Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, All My Children) and Ryan Seacrest, Let’s Make A Deal host Wayne Brady (ex-Reese, B&B), Y&R stars Eileen Davidson (Ashley), Greg Rikaart (Kevin), Beth Maitland (Traci), Camryn Grimes (Mariah) and Cait Fairbanks (Tessa). Greg Meng, former co-executive producer, DAYS, posted a group shot from a while back featuring DAYS cast members, many wearing purple, supporting Spirit Day.
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