A "Bold" Coming Out

I don't know one soap opera from another.  It's all Days of Our General Hospital's Guiding Light to me.

But here's a reason to pay attention.  Joanna Johnson, a star of "The Bold and the Beautiful," has come out.  According to SheWired, that makes Johnson the only out star of the daytime soaps.

Hard to believe she's the only one.  I'd hazard a guess that assorted gay males are making a nice living on daytime TV.  One, say, might be playing a cop who's been in six comas.

"Daytime is a whole different world than primetime or theater or film,” said Johnson.  “There's a greater intimacy between the viewers and the characters. They think you are your character. And that creates a lot of fear. Fear of rejection. I was so worried I wouldn't be employable as an actress if people knew I was a lesbian. Or that I wouldn't be believable in romance stories. I had to deal with a lot of self-loathing.”

Johnson, who has been on "Bold" since 1987, is embarking on a queer storyline.  She'll be married to another woman.  Or her identical twin will be married to another woman . . . I don't know.

In actuality, Johnson is married to an actress and has two children.  She's hung out with Melissa Etheridge and Ellen DeGeneres, noting, “I'm not anywhere near as famous as those ladies, but I guess it's my turn to do my little part. It's time to live a fully authentic life."

Being fully authentic in her real life is a nice counterpoint to the job of soap star.  At home, she's a lesbian mom.  At work, she might be a long-lost heiress with leprosy.