[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Genie Francis will not stand by that rape scene between Luke and Laura Spencer in General Hospital.
As you recognize, Luke and Laura are thought of THE “super couple” within the cleaning soap opera world, beloved by many followers of the ABC hit for many years. But their relationship began on a horrific observe; in a 1979 episode, Anthony Geary’s character Luke sexually assaulted Laura. Rather than making him face penalties for his actions, the present had the pair fall in love and ultimately get married. For a long time, the present tried to play off the terrible second by calling it “seduction.” But undoubtedly, this storyline wouldn’t fly on tv right this moment.
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Now, Genie has slammed the controversial scene — and made it clear she refuses to “justify” what occurred anymore. The cleaning soap opera legend advised reporters throughout ABC’s Television Critics Association presentation on Wednesday:
“I don’t defend it anymore. You know, as a young kid, at 17, I was told to play rape, and I played it. I didn’t even know what it was. But, at 17, you follow the rules, and you do as you are told, and you aim to please. At 60, I don’t feel the need to defend that anymore.”
She continued, saying how being part of that storyline has been a “burden” for her:
“I think that the story was inappropriate, I don’t condone it, and it’s been a burden that I’ve had to carry to try to justify that story, and so I’m not doing that anymore. I think, when a woman says ‘No,’ that she should be listened to, and if you replay that scene, you don’t have Laura just saying ‘No.’ You have her screaming ‘No.’”
For those that assume that is some type of exaggeration, right here’s the scene (in admittedly horrible high quality):
Yeah, no query right here. This was supposed to be a scene depicting a sexual assault. And it’s horrible.
Looking again on the romance between Luke and Laura, Genie recalled what it was prefer to movie their wedding ceremony (above proper, inset) in gentle of the rape scene and mentioned it was an “uncomfortable” second. She defined:
“I think of what an uncomfortable day that was to shoot. You know, in super-spiked high heels, sinking in the mud. I have got that headdress on, which is pretty, but it was wired, and it was sticking in my head, and I was not allowed to sit down because you couldn’t wrinkle that dress. And that was very, very physically uncomfortable, and everybody was super tense because it was such a big deal. There’s a picture, I think, that they showed where we start to dance. That was after the ceremony, and we started to dance the Virginia reel, and then I actually started to have fun. But, before that, it was a very tough day of shooting.”
Despite the terrible storyline, the 60-year-old actress acknowledged how “big a deal” their character’s wedding ceremony was to followers on the time:
“You know, it’s hard to put that in just one sentence. It’s still sinking in to me how big a deal it was. At the time, I knew it was popular, but I never dreamed that we would be celebrating the 60th [anniversary] and still talking about that moment.”
We’re glad to see Genie calling out how horrible the plot between Laura and Luke was so a few years later. She’s proper, it was inappropriate, and everyone knows it. It’s nice she’s lastly in a position to give these emotions voice.
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[Image via General Hospital/YouTube, Adriana M. Barraza/WENN]
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