The Bold and the Beautiful might think it was doing something ultra-soapy when an unknowingly drugged Luna slept with Zende while being in love with RJ, but instead, the story has turned out to be ultra-cringe.
Luna Makes The Biggest Mistake Of Her Life
Poor Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada) couldn’t believe her eyes and ears when she woke up in Zende Forrester’s (Delon De Metz) bed. She had no idea where she was at first, but RJ (Joshua Hoffman) was the only person on her mind. When she saw a shirtless Zende and realized what had happened, she was sick to her stomach, and so was the audience.
Luna didn’t know why she didn’t feel quite like herself at Eric (John McCook) and Donna’s (Jennifer Gareis) impromptu wedding after only having one or two drinks. When she wandered to Zende’s guest house, helped her thirsty self to some water, and got in his bed, she saw RJ standing before her and told that figure she was waiting for him. Of course, who Luna thought was RJ was really Zende, and that’s where things get both tricky and disturbing.
Luna Did Not Consent
Although a horrified Luna and a confused Zende agreed that the sex was consensual, it was not, and we are not sure why B&B is trying to tell us that it was. Luna did not know she was having sex with Zende and did not want to have sex with Zende. Yes, Zende truly believed it was him whom Luna was waiting for and didn’t question her presence in her bed for a minute.
And, while he didn’t know she had inadvertently ingested her mother’s drugs disguised in the form of simple breath mints, he still saw a young woman who was not acting like herself and was clearly, at the very least, drunk.
He should have let her sleep it off and not gotten into bed with her, but here we are, as that is not the story the show wants to tell. Adding to the twisted nature of this story is the fact that Luna had just lost her virginity the day before. So, now Luna’s second time was with a man she didn’t consent to have sex with, which makes things all the more heartbreaking for this character.
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The Race Factor
Seeing how a longtime character like Zende has been treated over the last few years, especially the last few months, has always rubbed us the wrong way. Despite Delon De Metz‘s leading man potential, Zende has been mainly backburnered since 2021, and we never even learned why his marriage to Nicole Avant (Reign Edwards) ended.
A brief fling with Zoe Buckingham (Kiara Barnes) and a supposed relationship with Paris Buckingham barely got the time of day. We are unsure what happened between Zende and Paris (Diamond White). One day, they were dating; now, we guess they are not. Since late last year, we have watched the only Black Forrester seemingly tossed aside by his own family for golden child RJ, and during Black History month. Now, we also have to watch him painted as a sexual predator, which is completely out of character and just plain wrong.
What Was Done Before Does Not Fly In 2024
While there is nothing new about this storyline, as soaps — and B&B — have presented variations before, we live in a different world now. The #MeToo movement has caused society to see situations like this for what they are — sexual assaults.
It wasn’t right when The Young and the Restless‘s Malcolm (Shemar Moore) slept with Drucilla (Victoria Rowell) in the 1990s when she was high on cold medicine in the 1990s, producing Lily (Christel Khalil, who is back filming at Y&R). It wasn’t right when B&B’s Thomas (then played by Pierson Fode) slept with an inebriated Caroline (Linsey Godfrey) in 2016, producing Douglas. And Zende sleeping with Luna is certainly not right in 2024. While past stories can’t be taken back, if there was one thing B&B should have known, it’s that stories like this should never be written again.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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