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DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Cady McClain Ends Her Great Run as Jennifer; But Not Before A ‘Wink-Wink’ Nudge-Nudge’ to AMC’s Dixie ‘Poison Pancake’ Debacle

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Wednesday’s episode featured another solid performance by two-time Daytime Emmy-winner, Cady McClain as Jennifer Horton Devereux as it was the day of her mother, Laura’s (Jaime Lyn Bauer) funeral.

Last week, longtime viewers were saddened that the character of Dr. Laura Horton was killed-off.  The question remains did she fall accidentally and hit her head in a struggle with Gwen (Emily O’Brien), or did Gwen intentionally kill Laura?

Yesterday was also the final episode of McClain in the role of Jennifer – as far as we know for now.   In story, following Laura’s funeral, Jennifer was heading to Boston to be with her brother Mike, to settle their mother’s estate and go through her belongings, etc.

Cady had taken over the role of Jennifer from Melissa Reeves, who chose to stay in Nashville during the Covid-19 pandemic.  As part of her departure, head writer, Ron Carlivati and the writing team, delivered a little wink-wink nudge-nudge to soap viewers and those of McClain’s time as Dixie Cooney Martin on All My Children.

In one of the most controversial soap death scenes of all-time, and one that was not kind to McClain, Dixie was killed-off the ABC daytime drama series after eating poison peanut butter pancakes. Fast-forward to 2021, and in an attempt to make DAYS Jennifer feel better, Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) whips up some banana pancakes with extra peanut butter!  When Jennifer declines them, Julie says she thought she liked them, to which Jennifer replied, “I used to.  But I had a bad experience with them once.  Now I can’t even look at them.”  Julie questions, “Bad experience?”  Then Jennifer says, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

In our books, McClain got the last laugh here getting to do a nod to the audience, who has followed her soap career for decades including the the 2007 killing of Dixie … by pancakes.

Previously, Cady shared in a 2020 interview with EW.com about the subject: “It was a dig at me by one of the writers that very much wanted to put me in my place. I had stepped out of line and they wanted to put me back in line, and I was going to eat those pancakes and I was going to learn my lesson, and I certainly did.”

So, what did you think of the mention of the ‘pancakes”? Will you miss Cady as Jennifer? Comment below.

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Loved the nod to that horrible death. Will miss her. Hopefully she will be back. If not as Jenn then another character.

Ah yes, the poisoned pancakes and Erica’s un-abortion — probably the two storylines that most contributed to the AMC decline in ratings and eventual cancellation.

I think she did a very nice job as Jennifer!

Will miss her, but hoping to see her in Pine Valley!

Hope they bring her back

I want Cady McClain to return to DAYS, she renewed Jennifer Horton and is so committed and a talented actress. She had great chemistry with Jack, Abigail, JJ and everyone else really. I really do hope Jennifer Rose returns in a few months with Cady McClain reclaiming the role which she made Jennifer come to life in a beautiful way…an intriguing portrayal. DAYS bring back Cady! She’s a gem!!!

The wink-wink to the pancakes were brilliant. As much as Ron Carlivati can bother me as a writer, it is those kind of nods that just make me smile. As for her tenure as Jennifer Horton, it was brilliant! Cady McClain took on the role, made it her own and ROCKED it!!! I only wish she would be sticking around, and hope her return is imminent! Daytime continues to ignore her and it is high-time she earns her damn due!

I want Cady to return as Jennifer, not a new character, and Jennifer didn’t eat the pancakes…

She did a nice job as a full in but as a long time day fan , nothing can beat Millisa Reeves and Jack together .

ReRon wastes too much time on little “inside jokes” like that, especially if it’s one of his OLTL pets coming on to Days (or previously on to GH)

Truth is, AMC never aired in Hell, and it usually aired directly opposite Days in most markets when it was on the air, so odds are the majority of Days viewers had no idea what the joke was about. I gave it about 6.66 seconds worth of thought as in “when the HELL did Jennifer get sick from eating pancakes??” and then forgot all about it.

At least if Julie had made donuts, there could have been an actual relevant joke made, given the incident with JJ’s cannabis donuts which inadvertently ended up being served at Jennifer’s book club meeting a few years back.

Donuts have been used a great many times in Salem thru the years…. Alice Horton herself made a tainted batch to bust bust people out of jail, then when the residents of Salem were being sent to the island (after everyone thinking they were killed off by the Salem slasher I believe it was) Alice Horton was even killed by her own donuts…. but yes I agree any DOOL fans would have known at least 1 reference to donuts and been able to catch it.

I never watched AMC so the reference was wastedon me. A comment about donuts would have made more sense. Also Cieras predicament is dragging on too long.

She was fabulous. Hope she comes back. Terrific actresd

Glad she is gone. I hope Melissa Reeves comes back soon.

I don’t think Melissa Reeves will be asked to come back. Not after what she did. In case you have forgotten, Melissa liked several anti-BLM posts from right wing Candace Owens on Instagram. Her co-stars on DOOL were, and probably still are, angry with Melissa. I would bet that one of the reasons Melissa was let go is because co-stars refused to work with her. Unless, others on DOOL agree to work with Melissa again she will not be asked back.

While I find Melissa’s social media activity to be abhorrent, it should be pointed out that she was not let go from DAYS. When filming resumed in September, she elected not to return due to travel considerations driving Covid. She and Scott do not live in Southern California.

I’m not sure if she is technically still under contract, but the decision not to return was hers.

That is the story we’ve been told, however, we ALL know there could definitely be more to the story, and I do believe there is more. As for Melissa Reeves’ status, I don’t think she is considered a cast member at this point; when Cady McClain assumed the role of Jennifer, she was credited as a regular cast member (not recurring) and Reeves’ name was not mentioned.

Scott-Melissa liking the anti-BLM comments posted by Cameron Owens is online. As for the reaction, just look at all the people who have lost jobs for doing the same thing.

Mary, I am well-aware of the abhorrent behaviour displayed by Melissa Reeves’ social media online, and have since her anti-LGBTQ+ views have been recognized by her peers.

However, this is a tricky case. Reeves did not directly make the comments; had she, that could and would be grounds for immediate termination. As such, it does raise the question: was she actually not asked back, due to being dropped with the rest of the cast, and the publicly-told story is that they are using the pandemic as a coverup. Then, hire Cady McClain as a “temporary” replacement, see the reception and then either bring her back in, or go down other avenues.

Currently, California, Colorado, Louisiana, New York and North Dakota ban employers from firing or retaliating against employees for any off-duty lawful activity, including speech. So, by that regard, Reeves’ abhorrent and disgusting behaviour on social media might just protect her, as well as her peers, from being fired.

We honestly won’t know unless TPTB either announce Reeves’ return, McClain’s return, another recast or the permanent exit of the character for the foreseeable future. That being said, I don’t believe the set of Days of Our Lives will be a warm place for her, based on the reaction of her co-stars, especially Lamon Archey (Eli) and Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), among others.

If (and that’s a broad assumption) the decision was on Corday’s end, all they would have to do is wait for an option period in Reeve’s contract. The production company has the right to end a contract without reason at set points (newbies every 3 months, select vets every 6 months). No official “firing” or termination is involved.

If Melissa doesn’t agree with blm that’s her right! SHE decided to take a leave of absence to protect her family from covid. I’m sure she can come back if she wants to! That lady did ok as Jennifer, but Melissa Reeves IS Jennifer and she has been from the beginning! I, for one, could care less about blm and what her opinion about it happens to be!

Lynn-unfortunately for Melissa, co-stars do care about BLM. All you have to do is read the tweets from Melissa’s co-stars in response to her liking anti-BLM comments.

Ken Corday and NBC also care about the fallout from Melissa liking anti-BLM comments. And some of those people in that NBC head office are not white. In my opinion, Ken Corday was being kind in allowing Jennifer to tell the world that she is freely taking a leave of absence to be with family.

High profile People across the United States have lost jobs for doing what Melissa did. Considering the circumstances surrounding the creation of BLM, Melissa liking anti-BLM comments was and is extremely insensitive and hurtful for many people.

As for Cady, she was very good as Jennifer. Don’t miss Jennifer at all.

That’s just ridicules, this cancel culture must STOP, everyone is entitled to their thoughts and opinions, pisses me off!

Shirley- this cancel culture, as you call it, will not stop any time soon. BLM is and will continue to be a powerful political force in the United States. Melissa Reeves has still NOT publicly apologized for her insensitivity in liking Candace Owens anti-BLM comment. How do you think James Reynolds, Jackee Harry, Sal Stowers and others on DOOL are still reacting to what Melissa has done. Melissa just caused her career to implode big time.

Adam
Don’t hold your breath. Melissa probably cut her own throat by voicing an opinion which is as good as anyone else’s , but these days you you only say what the others want to hear. They are not interested nor do they care about anyone else’s opinions and feelings but their own.

Loved it! Sorry to see Cady depart DOOL. She brought depth and heart to the character of Jennifer. The wink was a nice nod to us longtime fans and gave us some satisfaction after all these years.

Ive always watched Days of Our Lives not
All My Children. I was left thinking when did Jennifer have a pancake encounter? Carlivati is the worst writer in the history of Days. I wonder to myself why I still watch this show and all I can come up with is my longevity
watching since 1973. I vowed a long time ago to watch until the end. It’s difficult.
I want to say how much I appreciate this forum where viewers share their real feelings about the show. I’m glad I found you.

No I did not like her as Jennifer

I’ve enjoyed seeing Cady as Jennifer.Is there an unspoken reason she is leaving?

The best play-on-words ever–“I used to. But I had a bad experience with them once.”—-how refreshing!! Love it!!
I love Cady, always have—amazing actress—nonetheless, I can’t say I will miss as Jen because she had not grown on me as said character yet. Not enough time for Cady to make Jen her own.
You will shine at whatever you do, Cady.
Aside–Roman turned blond?– I actually like it. Color looks ok on him.

I neither liked nor disliked her-it’s just that Melissa Reeves will always be Jennifer, as far as I am concerned.

I could not believe the scenes from above photo. Jennifer is grieving her mother and the insensitive Julie is trying to stuff banana pancakes down her throat.( Why are they always feeding this woman pancakes?) Does Julie ever quit? I know she means well, but sometimes she’s like a bulldozer.

Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star, Greg Vaughan, Gives Health Update and Thanks Everyone for Their Support

Greg Vaughan (Eric, Days of our Lives, ex-Lucky, GH, and ex-Diego, Y&R) provided an update on his health on Sunday, March 17th. Vaughan had previously shared that he had become ill during a trip with his sons to Colorado, and had developed altitude sickness when he was having trouble breathing accompanied by terrible headaches and landed in the urgent care.

Now on St. Patrick’s Day, Greg took to his Instagram and shared how he is feeling now, and to thank everyone for their love and support.  As it turned out, Vaughan was diagnosed with high altitude pulmonary edema, commonly known as HAPE. However, he is on the mend slowly and surely.

In his new video post, the DAYS favorite started by expressing, “I just felt such an appreciation and gratitude for everything. . reaching out. Your prayers have been felt. It’s been a struggle, but I’m over the top. And, taking this moment just to say I didn’t realize the things that I was going through. My (original) post was simply just to educate, put some information out there and some things that I was feeling, just share that information and the struggle that I was going through, which I didn’t quite understand. And it wasn’t because I’m stubborn or just because I’m a father, a man, and didn’t want to go to a doctor. It is just something I thought was so minor that I could overcome it, just by taking care of myself.”

Photo: JPI

The Daytime Emmy winner then revealed his actual diagnosis, “So, basically my situation was high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). With some good friends, doctors that had reached out to me, it kind of gave me some understanding on the aftermath, which was very, very beneficial.”

“But I’ve been resting, taking care of myself even though I live in a hamster wheel,” said the dad of three teenaged boys. “I gotta get up and, you know, do my normal domesticated stuff, eventually. I’m tired of laying down in this bed, but, I am feeling much better.”

Photo: GVaughanIG

Talking on his confusion of trying to understand what could have been ailing him, Vaughan expressed, “I couldn’t quite figure it out, even though I was emphasizing and professing to my children going on our spring break getaway about hydration. I professed it. But, even though I was acting on it, it had a greater effect on me, and for which I did not even think, because my head was such in pain, and I was in a very bad state of mind – not being able to be out there with my kids on the mountain, enjoying their time, as well. I thought I was doing the right thing. Unfortunately, my lungs were full of fluids and my head was in severe pain and even migraine pills didn’t even help. So, I just want anybody that goes into the Colorado Mountains to know, it is no joke. It is this very serious thing which I guess is why they call it the Mile High City.”

Greg had a mountain of ‘thank you’s’ to give for the outreach he received from his original post, “For everybody internationally, wherever you are, I love you and I appreciate you and just the time and the thoughts that you’ve shared with me,” said Vaughan. “I didn’t realize that it would make such an impression on so many people around the world. I feel tremendously loved and I can’t say it enough. I’m good. And I appreciate you.”

Photo: GVaughanIG

The actor concluded his video with, “To all the family and friends that have reached out to me, man, it means the world. So take care of yourself, enjoy your spring break with your families. It’s Saint Patty’s Day, obviously. I wish I could be out there.” Vaughan added, “I feel loved and touched and I can’t emphasize that enough. I’ll take better care of myself, promise you will do the same.” Before he signed off, Greg shared, “Just know, that I’m alive and well and breathing, and I’m sore. So, be well, take care. I mean it. Thank you, tremendously.”

Glad to know that Greg has been on the mend, and shared his appreciation for everyone that reached out to him during this trying time? Comment below.

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Days Of Our Lives

‘Access Hollywood’ and ‘Couple to Throuple’ Host Scott Evans to Appear on Days of our Lives

Scott Evans, host of Access Hollywood and the Peacock reality series Couple to Throuple, will make a guest appearance this week on Days of our Lives.

Circle the Thursday, March 21st episode of DAYS for Evans’ arrival in Salem. During his tape date last fall (since DAYS tapes months well ahead of when episodes actually stream), Scott posed for a snap alongside Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), Jackée Harry (Paulina), James Reynolds (Abe) and Greg Rikaart (Leo).

Teasers for the 3/21 episode of DAYS share that Leo tries to come up with his next gossip column, and Paulina and Abe return home to a mini-celebration set up by Johnny and Steve. Will Evans pop up in one of those scenarios? Stay tuned.

Photo: JPI

For a long time, soap opera fans knew only of one Scott Evans. The one who played Oliver Fish on One Life to Live from 2008-2010.  But in show business, there are two Scott Evans’ that are widely-known.

Last Thursday, March 12th at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards, it found both Scott Evans and Scott Evans together in the green room and they taped this video ditty below, calling out how they both share the same name.

Photo: JPI

Last weekend, viewers saw OLTL’s Scott Evans on-stage at the Oscars when he performed in the musical number “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie led by Ryan Gosling.

As for Access Hollywood’s Scott Evans, he has been with the entertainment news program since 2015, appeared in the recent Ladies of the 80s: A Divas Christmas with Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Nicollette Sheridan, Loni Anderson and Morgan Fairchild, and currently has an overall talent and development deal with NBCUniversal.

So, looking forward to seeing Scott on DAYS? Check out ‘Evans meeting Evans’ below, and then share your thoughts in the comment section.

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Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star Greg Vaughan Shares Sudden Health Scare: “I Truly Feel Like I Work & Live in a Soap Opera!”

What started out as an adventure with his sons, quickly turned into a nightmare for Days of our Lives Daytime Emmy winner, Greg Vaughan (Eric Brady).

In a series of Instagram posts, Vaughan shared the sudden health crisis he found himself in.  The images show Greg with an oxygen tank to help him breathe.

The actor began to fill people, sharing, “I’ve said more than a few times, I truly feel like I work & live in a Soap Opera! 🤪 this trip was nothing short of another great Vaughan adventure!”

He went on to say that on a father and son Colorado spring break trip, he began to feel shortness of breath, feeling tired and with a headache and after two days of hoping he would feel better, Vaughan finally went to an Urgent Care to get checked out.

Photo: GVaughanIG

“I finally surrendered & went to urgent care and to my shock I learned that I was experiencing severe altitude sickness.” Vaughan admitted. “My Blood Oxygen was at 54% & my lungs were full of fluids! Blood oxygen, also known as oxygen saturation, represents the percentage of hemoglobin in your red blood cells that is carrying oxygen. Most people have an oxygen level of 95-100%….”

Providing more detail to his health scare, Greg shared, “Well, 4hrs later, a couple of bags of IV & oxygen tank strapped to my face, I was told that I needed to immediately get off the mountain! However I couldn’t, we still had another day to go & wanting the boys to enjoy their last day on the hill tops! I opted to go home with an oxygen tank, a good laugh for everyone, and I know will follow, but my boys looked after their old man & fortunately they had friends on this trip!”

Photo: JPI

The experience of altitude sickness in the Colorado Rockies gave Vaughan a bit of a new perspective, “In all seriousness, no matter your age, and all the times I’ve ⛷️ & 🏂 in my lifetime, Colorado Rockies is no joke! As they say, ‘ take a breathe and smell the roses!’ That is truly something we need to remember & appreciate! #recover”

Share your well-wishes to Greg as he continues to be on the mend via the comment section below.

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