As General Hospital fans, co-stars and former colleagues mourn the loss of eight-time Daytime Emmy winner, Anthony Geary (ex-Luke Spencer), tributes and remembrances are pouring in across social media, television entertainment and news program and more.

Now, in a just released new episode of Soapy Hosted by Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart, Beyond the Gates creator, head writer, showrunner and executive producer, Michele Val Jean, chats on her soap opera writing experience, and launching the first daytime drama on broadcast television in over 25 years and the first Black-led, one-hour soap in history, to boot.

In an ironic twist on timing, this conversation with Val Jean was taped back in October of this year around the presentation of the 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards as explained at the opening of the episode by Rebecca Budig, but released today on December 16. Anthony Geary passed away on Sunday, December 14 from complications from an unnamed medical procedure three days earlier at the age of 78.

Photo: ABC

Michele Val Jean spoke on her time on General Hospital as a script editor and script writer, working under then executive producer, Wendy Riche. Val Jean began her GH journey in 1993 and had several writing stints throughout her career with the ABC soap opera.

Speaking on writing for and working with the legendary Geary, Val Jean explained that she spent a lot of time in his dressing room changing the dialogue for him, but from that grew trust and was key to opening the opportunity Val Jean had hoped for, to reframe Luke’s rape of Laura (Genie Francis) at the Campus Disco back in 1979, and to call it out for what it was.

MICHELE’S PERSONAL STORY, GOALS FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL AND TONY GEARY

Val Jean expressed, “We (Tony and I) got to be friends, and we got to the point where he trusted me enough to agree to do the rape story.”  Then in a heartbreaking moment, Michele shared that she had been raped as young girl, so she knew from experience what is what and it needed to be corrected in story.

“When I was growing up I was raped. I had just turned 12, and I had lost my father three months before. He died in July. I was raped in September. So, I know what rape is. I know what it looks like. So, when Luke raped Laura, and she’s screaming ‘No!” and he’s taking her down to the floor, that’s rape, and because Tony and Genie had so much chemistry, the show started to call it a “mutual seduction,” explained Michele.  “And I was like, ‘That’s not what I saw.'”

Photo: Almay

“So when I was on the show and I had some input into story. I had three goals. One, was to call a rape, “a rape.” Two, was to win Tony Geary am Emmy because he hadn’t won one since 1983. And the other one, three was to sort of exercise my own demons, because where I grew up on the south side of Chicago, you didn’t have therapy. There was a trial. My rapist went to jail. And then after all that was over, I was just supposed to put it behind me and move on. It was really shattering.”

The head scribe used her tools as a storyteller to work through her pain and grief of her own rape, but to also clear up any confusion is soap history that Luke did indeed rape Laura. “So, I wanted to kind of put myself back together through telling that story. I knew I couldn’t come at it directly because Luke and Laura had been together for decades at that point. I had to come in through another door, and that was through Lucky (Jonathan Jackson).”

“YOU GET AN EMMY!”

Finally in 1998, Val Jean spearheaded the story that would see Luke’s admission to his son that he raped his mother. “So, I had Lucky come on the aftermath of Elizabeth’s rape and see how shattered she was, and to go through her recovery with her. Then, find out that his father had done that to his mother and that just blew up the whole family. Everyone involved in that story got Emmys. It was like Oprah! ‘You get an Emmy, and you get an Emmy.” We (Tony and I) worked really closely together through the whole thing. I felt like it was like my rapist didn’t own that afternoon anymore, I did,” recounted Michele.

Photo: CBS

Rebecca Budig shared on the story point, “I commend Tony because a lot of times you don’t want your character to look bad and that’s a big admission, right?” To which Val Jean, replied, “He embraced it. I put him on a couch, sat him on a couch, and gave him a nine minute monologue with flashbacks when Lucky said, ‘I need you to tell me what happened that night.’ And that is what Tony won the (1999) Emmy for. It was that monologue.”

THE NEW FRONTIER – BEYOND THE GATES

Later, Rebecca and Greg speak to Michele about the importance of the creation of Beyond the Gates and representation of Black characters and families on the soaps. “I didn’t like that black people were always the “best friend,” or you know, a family who would be there for a minute and then they move on, expressed Val Jean. “It’s really, really gratifying to be able open the door to this world.”

In addition to Val Jean, Beyond the Gates costume designer, Jeresa Featherstone sits down with Greg and Rebecca and shares how she draws inspiration for her crowd-pleasing looks that have come to define Beyond the Gates and how she gives each character on the canvas a distinct look and fashion sense.

Now below, check out the full episode of  “Soapy” featuring Beyond the Gates creator, Michele Val Jean and costume designer, Jeresa Featherstone.

Then let us know, what did you think about the heart-tugging story of Michele’s past and how she worked with Tony Geary in the key storyline that had Luke admitting to Lucky that he has raped his mother, Laura which shed the optics on the controversial plot point of 1979 ‘General Hospital’ and more? Share your thoughts via the comment section.