Thursday's CBS This Morning celebrated the introduction of a transgender character to its network's long-running soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. Jeff Glor trumpeted the "'bold' move for daytime drama," and hyped how "the fictional plot twist on a CBS soap that is starting a real conversation about tolerance." The morning newscast touted actress Karla Mosley, who plays the character, singing the praises of her Big 3 employer: "It's brave of CBS." [video below]
Fill-in anchor Glor teased correspondent Kevin Frazier's report with his "bold" reference to the drama series, and continued with his "real conversation about tolerance" line. Frazier underlined the supposed groundbreaking nature of the development, and spotlighted how Mosley reveled in her role and the opportunity to "educate" viewers:
FRAZIER (voice-over): For years, fans of The Bold and the Beautiful have known Maya Avant as a supermodel and fashion industry executive. But on Wednesday's episode-
EDWARDS: You're not Maya at all. You're Myron. You're my brother.
FRAZIER: They discovered something about her they didn't know.
MOSLEY: Oh, I'm just getting started!
FRAZIER: Soap operas have been at the forefront of tackling controversial issues, but the twist came as a surprise to the actress playing her, Karla Mosley.
MOSLEY (from pre-recorded interview): She is a transgender woman, and – and, at first, I was shocked. And then, I said, thank you, because obviously, as an actress, it's an incredible thing to play.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: There have been transgender characters on soaps before, but this is the first main character, and it looks like it's going to be a recurring role.
MOSLEY (from CBS's "The Bold and the Beautiful"): I'm not having this conversation-
FRAZIER: For the actress, this revelation is an opportunity to both entertain and educate her audience.
MOSLEY (from pre-recorded interview): They're now, basically, going through this, kind of, just closure process, as each of the characters on the show are. If I've loved the character for so long, why is this changing the way that I feel now?
MOSLEY (from CBS's "The Bold and the Beautiful"): What can I do to cheer you up?
FRAZIER: At this point in the 'B and B' storyline, there's still an important person who doesn't know Maya was born male – her boyfriend, Rick.
MOSLEY (from pre-recorded interview): It's brave. It's brave of CBS. We're excited, and we're standing behind it, and we feel that it's important.
MOSLEY (from CBS's "The Bold and the Beautiful"): You're real good at trash-talking me in front of Rick.
FRAZIER: It could be important to the show as well.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: Soaps are definitely going through a tough time right now. But I think the fact that soaps can stay current is a great way to keep them at the top of the pop culture charts.
MOSLEY (from pre-recorded interview): This is the kind of opportunity that I've prayed for – to be able to make change in the world through my art in a big way.
KEVIN FRAZIER: For CBS This Morning, Kevin Frazier, Los Angeles.
At the end of the segment, Gayle King turned to fellow anchor Charlie Rose for his take on the "plot twist" from the series. Unsurprisingly, Rose reacted positively, and King repeated Glor's sappy compliment/show reference:
GAYLE KING: Thoughts, Charlie?...I mean, I think it's interesting-
CHARLIE ROSE: I'll tell you what I'd do. I actually think that this is such a thing that people are talking about-
KING: Yeah, it is. It's a bold move-
ROSE: I want to do a program about it-
KING: A bold move.
Back in July 2014, the CBS This Morning anchors hyped how Laverne Cox is "the first openly-transgendered woman ever nominated for an acting Emmy," and fawned over the Orange is the New Black actor.
