Soap operas have had a bit of a coming out party over the last few years, introducing several gay characters (such as Days of our Lives' Sonny and Will, and General Hospital's Lucas and Felix) as well as a transgender character (The Bold and the Beautiful's Maya). And it seems The Young and the Restless' Greg Rikaart (Kevin Fisher) wants to join the celebration.
The real-life homosexual star opened up to Gay Star News about his opinion regarding his Genoa City alter ego, whom he describes as the perfect character candidate to tell such a story. "I want him to come out," says Rikaart, who came out in his personal life in 2013. "I think it would be a super interesting story to tell... [And] I think it would be more socially responsible than just bringing on a gay character -- to have someone on the canvas that the audience knows and thinks of as family and takes that [coming out] journey."
While B&B, GH, and DAYS have delved headfirst into introducing gay/transgender characters, Y&R has been a bit shy about jumping on the bandwagon, only dipping in a small toe: one story had Philip Chancellor III (Thom Bierdz) returning to the canvas in 2009 and later coming out as an openly gay character, but he didn't have a love interest during his short stint back on the show. Another story had the straight character of Adam Newman (then played by Michael Muhney) engage in a sexual encounter with his attorney, Rafe (Yani Gellman), which Melody Thomas Scott's Nikki witnessed.
Some would argue, therefore, it's time for an openly gay character to not only be present in Genoa City, but to also drive stories -- which Rikaart believes Kevin could do, considering he's an established character on the canvas and already has the perfect setup for the story to make sense. "Kevin's never been a Lothorio," the actor explains of his alter ego's history. "I think his relationships with women have been difficult, at best."
How would you react if Kevin came out as gay? Do you feel it would make sense for the character? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
