*“Empire” wasn’t the only show on Wednesday to shock viewers and cause a mad rush to social media.
Hours earlier on CBS, “The Bold and The Beautiful” aired a cliff-hanger that had one Twitter follower like this…
#boldandbeautiful made me go… pic.twitter.com/kwUpwlU1xO
— The Buzzcast (@BuzzWorthyRadio) March 18, 2015
All because it was revealed on the soap that Maya Avant, played for two years by actress Karla Mosley, was born a male…named Myron.
“You’re not my sister, Maya. You’re not Maya at all,” said Nicole (Reign Edwards) during an emotional argument. “You’re Myron, my brother.”
Watch below:
The Twitterverse erupted, making #Maya an instant trending topic across the United States.
Holy F! Today’s #BoldandBeautiful I’ve never been so shocked.
— Patch (@prezpat) March 18, 2015
I almost forgot what it was like to have a reveal actually be shocking. Well done #BoldandBeautiful. Take note #YR. That is all.
— JC (@jmcrenny) March 18, 2015
…Myra was Myron? Really? Really really? Wow. What? Wow. #BoldandBeautiful
— R. Rayburn (@SweetHott74) March 18, 2015
Seriously it takes guts for a major Soap Opera and a MAJOR Network (CBS) to go forth with this #BoldandBeautiful has no fear apparently.
— Chante’ (@FutureSoBrite_) March 18, 2015
“My first reaction was surprise, because 10 or 20 years ago, this is not a story we would be telling, and not in a way that’s truthful and not sensational,” Mosley, 33, told USA Today of her transgender character. “My second reaction was, ‘Thank you.’ It’s a gift. It’s a privilege,” she told the newspaper. “It’s a real opportunity to educate our viewers here and all over the world.”
“It is about people respecting other people’s differences and their uniqueness,” said Bradley Bell, executive producer and head writer for B&B in a statement obtained by USA Today. “In the end, we all want to be loved, and in order to love someone else you first have to love yourself,” Bell added. “If you are transgender, gay, straight, it doesn’t matter. It’s about finding love in life. This is a love story.”