Simone Russell: Difference between revisions

| nieces/nephews = [[Crane family (Passions)|Miles Harris-Crane]]<br />UnnamedDiana Harris-Crane<br />UnnamedJJ nephewCrane

Simone's storyline made daytime television history when ''Passions'' became the first soap opera to show two women having sex. The character was also daytime television's first African-American lesbian. At the [[17th GLAAD Media Awards]], the show won [[GLAAD Media Award#Categories|Outstanding Daily Drama]], and Doe accepted the award on the show's behalf. The show's representation of [[LGBTLGBTQ|lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender]] (LGBT) topics, and Doe's performance as Simone, received a mixed response from critics; she was the principal actress during the storylines focusing on the character's sexuality.

Simone's storyline about coming out as a lesbian received mixed feedback. She was identified as "a character who broke down some barriers for the depiction of lesbians on daytime TV and earned the show awards and accolades from civil rights groups" by a writer from [[List of soap opera media outlets|Soaps.com]].<ref name="Remember">{{cite web|url=http://soaps.sheknows.com/passions/news/1226/whatever-happened-tothe-simones|title=Whatever Happened to...the Simones|date=October 15, 2007|publisher=[[Soaps.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215090238/http://soaps.sheknows.com/passions/news/1226/whatever-happened-tothe-simones|archive-date=February 15, 2016}}</ref> ''[[The Atlantic]]''{{'}}s Aaron Foley saw the show's inclusion of a black, lesbian character as a sign of "America bec[oming] more comfortable with seeing blacks on screen" and viewers "bec[oming] more comfortable with risky, sometimes hilarious storylines".<ref name="First">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/soap-operas-the-forgotten-birthplace-of-complex-black-characters-on-tv/388907/|title=The Unsung Legacy of Black Characters on Soap Operas|date=March 31, 2000|publisher=[[Atlantic Media]]|work=[[The Atlantic]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216051735/http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/soap-operas-the-forgotten-birthplace-of-complex-black-characters-on-tv/388907/|archive-date=February 16, 2016}}</ref> Damon Romine, media entertainment director of [[GLAAD]] (2005–2009), emphasized the show's ability to normalize [[LGBTLGBTQ|lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender]] (LGBT) topics for a wider audience, and opined that the introduction of gay characters made soap operas worth watching.<ref name="TVGuide" /> Simone's homosexuality was described as "the most real and moving story on the show" by Soapcentral{{'}}s Brandi Pine, who found T. C.'s negative reaction to be a realistic portrayal of a parent's difficult in accepting his or her child's sexual orientation.<ref name="Best2005">{{cite web|url=http://soapcentral.com/ps/content/scoop/twoscoops/2005/051226.php |title=Best of 2005 |last=Pine |first=Brandi |date=December 26, 2005 |publisher=[[Soapcentral]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161226223518/http://soapcentral.com/ps/content/scoop/twoscoops/2005/051226.php |archive-date=December 26, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Sarah Warn]], former editor of entertainment website [[AfterEllen.com and TheBacklot.com|AfterEllen.com]], considered the storyline an improvement over a similar one used in ''[[All My Children]]''.<ref name="AfterEllen" /> Following the character's departure in 2007, Soaps.com identified Simone as a "charming and strong willed" character who would be remembered for "br[eaking] down some barriers for the depiction of lesbians on daytime TV".<ref name="StrongWill">{{cite web|url=http://soaps.sheknows.com/passions/news/1226/whatever-happened-tothe-simones|title=Whatever Happened to...the Simones|date=November 15, 2007|publisher=[[Soaps.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215090238/http://soaps.sheknows.com/passions/news/1226/whatever-happened-tothe-simones|archive-date=February 15, 2016}}</ref>

Several [[Television criticism|television critics]] had a more negative response to Simone's storyline as a lesbian and to Doe's performance. Warn criticized Simone's relationship with Rae as poorly developed, believing her to be limited to "a one-dimensional character who happened to sleep with a girl", and argued that viewers never had the opportunity to "see this woman through her eyes" since the character's sexuality and past relationships with men, and her possible [[bisexuality]], were never addressed on screen. Warn also derided the lack of chemistry between Doe and [[Jossara Jinaro]], who plays Rae.<ref name="AfterEllen" /> Herndon L. Davis of ''[[Windy City Times]]'' felt the representation of Simone as daytime's first African-American lesbian was overshadowed by the show's poor portrayal of Vincent Clarkson. Davis discussed Simone's story arc in his wider criticism of race in daytime television.<ref name="RaceBitterIssue">{{Cite web|url=http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/View-Racial-vs-gay-diversity-in-daytime-TV/21128.html|title=View: Racial vs. gay diversity in daytime TV – Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive|date=May 1, 2009|publisher=Tracy Baim|work=[[Windy City Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214165003/http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/View-Racial-vs-gay-diversity-in-daytime-TV/21128.html|archive-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> Rae's death following the reveal of Chad's affair with Vincent was heavily criticized by Mike Perigard of the ''[[Boston Herald]]'', who believed that her removal was only written to maintain a low quota of gay characters on the show.<ref name="BostonHerald">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/2007/02/passions_exceeds_gay_quota_kills_character|title='Passions' exceeds gay quota, kills character|last=Perigard|first=Mark|publisher=Herald Media Inc.|work=[[Boston Herald]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709200914/http://www.bostonherald.com/2007/02/passions_exceeds_gay_quota_kills_character|archive-date=July 9, 2016}}</ref>

Simone was the first African-American lesbian to be featured on daytime television.<ref name="RaceBitterIssue" /><ref name="Love">{{cite web|url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2008/07/gaylesbianbisexual-television.html|title=History of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Television Characters|last=Newcomb|first=Roger|date=July 7, 2008|work=[[We Love Soaps]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528222646/http://www.welovesoaps.net/2008/07/gaylesbianbisexual-television.html|archive-date=May 28, 2016}}</ref> ''Passions'' also made history by becoming the first daytime television series to show two women having sex.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glaad.org/poc/coad/nominees/nominees06.php|title=GLAAD Media Awards Communities of African Descent Nominations|publisher=[[GLAAD]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216150944/http://www.glaad.org/poc/coad/nominees/nominees06.php|archive-date=February 16, 2006}}</ref> The soap opera won the award for Outstanding Daily Drama at the 17th GLAAD Media Awards,<ref>{{cite news|title=Industry Insider|date=February 13, 2007|work=[[Soap Opera Weekly]]|publisher=[[Source Interlink]]|page=4}}</ref> with Doe accepting the award on the show's behalf.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actress-cathy-jenen-doe-who-plays-the-lesbian-character-news-photo/71175229|title=Actress Cathy Jenen Doe, who plays the lesbian character, Simone, on...|date=June 11, 2006 |publisher=[[Getty Images]]|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225203737/http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actress-cathy-jenen-doe-who-plays-the-lesbian-character-news-photo/71175229|archive-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref> Doe was also listed as a pre-nominee for the [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series]] for the [[34th Daytime Emmy Awards]] alongside co-star Emily Harper, but was not chosen as one of the final nominees.<ref name="Emmys">{{cite web|url=http://soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2007/0129-emmy_prenoms.php|title=Emmy Pre-Screening Nominations Announced|date=January 29, 2007|publisher=[[Soapcentral]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216155823/http://soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2007/0129-emmy_prenoms.php|archive-date=February 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name="PrePrePre">{{cite web|url=http://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/527/daytime-emmy-prenominations |title=Daytime Emmy Pre-Nominations |date=February 2, 2007 |publisher=[[Soaps.com]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161226223252/http://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/527/daytime-emmy-prenominations |archive-date=December 26, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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[[Category:FemaleAmerican female characters in television]]

[[Category:Fictional African-American peoplecharacters in television]]

[[Category:Fictional LGBTLGBTQ characters in television]]