Gay Kiss Controversy

There's been controversy about a gay teen storyline on 52 year old CBS Soap As The World Turns, but it's not the one you'd expect. Fans of the show have been protesting, sending bags of Hershey's Kisses and even starting a counting "Nuke Liplock Clock" website showing how long it had been since Noah and Luke (or Nuke to fans) have kissed. Yesterday, with no advance leak, they finally kissed onscreen, and it had been 211 days, 14 hours, 45 minutes, and 45 seconds since the last kiss back in September.

Daytime television’s only gay couple, often referred to as “Nuke” by fans, last kissed on September 26, 2007. Since then, there has been plenty of kissing between the show’s heterosexual couples, but a series of interruptions and pan-aways whenever it seemed like the gay teens might kiss.

In the most well-publicized example, during last year’s Christmas episode, the characters leaned in to kiss, but at the last moment, the camera passed upward to mistletoe hanging above the doorway—an “artistic decision,” according to Brian T. Cahill, Sr. V.P., Managing Director for TeleVest Daytime Programs.

The Soap had some protests back in September after the first kiss:

After two passionate on-screen kisses last fall, the couple lovingly referred to by fans as "Nuke" suddenly stopped displaying their affection toward one another. Jeannie Tharrington, the producer's spokeswoman, told The Advocate, "To be frank, a lot of people weren't expecting that first kiss. We got a lot of letters -- not from activists but from regular fans who said, 'We're not ready for this.'"

But then the demands from fans and the "Kiss Campaign" started. CBS has gained a younger and bigger audience for this aging Soap. I think it's fantastic, and I'm glad they're telling an honest story like this. The kiss is pretty hot, too! I've never watched the show, but my Grandma used to watch every day. Wonder what she would have thought about this!