Congratulations are in order for General Hospital and Days of Our Lives favorite Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny and ex-Stefan/Jake, respectively) and his wife, Isabella Devoto Barash, who welcomed their newborn son, Sebastian Antonio Barash back on June 5.

For the first time his Sebastian’s birth the couple is posting and beaming with pride at the new addition to the family. This is Brandon and Isabella’s second child and second son together following the birth of Joaquin Lee Barash back in September of 2023. Barash is also the father of Harper Rose Barash from his previous marriage to General Hospital star, Kirsten Storms (Maxie) who is now 12-years-old and big sister to do younger brothers!

In his heartfelt post on Instagram accompanied by several photos of his growing family, Brandon expressed, “The heart is indeed a muscle, and boy, can it stretch. We welcomed our newest addition Sebastian Antonio Barash (Antonio after Isa’s dad) on 6.5.26. Lil Seba, I vow to love you with undying ferocity and without condition. As for our new family of five, we have all already evolved for the better as we rise like the lotus through the muck of sleepless nights, soul-tingling baby whimpers, and yes, poopy diapers. These babies teach us a clinic on love…all we need to do is saddle up, be still, and take em in. Isabella Barash, you’re my hero. Thank you for the gift of your love. House is full, hearts fuller.”

Photo: BBarashIG

BRANDON’S BUDDIES CONGRATULATE HIM ON WELCOMING NEW SON

Several of Brandon’s former co-stars have already jumped in the commenting thread including, Rob Scott Wilson (Alex, DAYS) “Congrats my brotha!!,” Dan Feuerriegel (EJ, DAYD) and Eric Martsolf (Brady, DAYS), with whom Brandon appears with in the Day Players Band and more.

Back in April of this year, Brandon was granted an emergency restraining order against his ex-wife, Kirsten Storms claiming that the GH favorite was exhibiting concerning behavior and he feared for the well-being of their daughter, Harper. They each now live separate lives in Tennessee.

We send our well-wishes to Brandon, Isabella and their new son, Sebastian as they build their burgeoning family unit.

Take a look at Brandon and Isabella’s new little bundle of joy in the snaps below.

Now, share your congratulations to Brandon and Isabella  via the comment section!

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It’s one of the most controversial storylines in soap opera history, when Luke (the late Anthony Geary) raped Laura (Genie Francis) back in an episode that aired in 1979. In the story, one fateful night while believing his latest assignment for the mob would get him killed, Luke drank heavily, and confessed his love to Laura. She had been working at the disco at the time and tried to comfort him.

Luke said, “I’m not going to die without holding you in my arms just one time. Dance with me.” As Herb Alpert’s “Rise,” played in the background, Laura tried to leave as she was getting fearful of Luke. The camera panned away as Luke forced himself on her and Laura screamed, “No!” The aftermath also became a huge problem for the series years later. GH tried to pass it off as a seduction, while viewer outcry, and as the world evolved over the decades called it then and now what it was, “rape.”

The script writer for that episode was prolific soap opera writer and three-time Emmy winner, Sheri Anderson. The popular scribe is best-known for her work on Days of Our Lives and also her tenure as its co-head writer, but she also spent a few years at General Hospital smack dab in the late 70s and early 80s, under then legendary executive producer, Gloria Monty.

Photo: JPI

During her visit last week to the Michael Fairman Channel, where Anderson opened up about a specific moments throughout her storied writing career, as well as the state of the soaps now in our culture, she recalled the events that transpired before and after that led to her scripting the infamous rape episode on GH.

ABC NETWORK EXEC DECIDES LUKE SHOULD RAPE LAURA

Sheri began, “What happened was Pat Falken Smith (then head writer, GH) came in from a meeting and she was stoned-faced, and we said, ‘What’s going on?’ She said Jackie Smith, who was head of the network, wants Luke to rape Laura and we were like, ‘What? We can’t do that!” She said that’s what we were going to so, because we were exploring ‘date rape’ at the time.”

“So, on General Hospital, or any show that I’ve been involved with, we would get as much research as we could on the subject, especially when I was writing,” explained Anderson. “I would always send the script to a therapist and say, ‘is this accurate? Is this emotionally correct?'”

Anderson shared from the writers viewpoint what the story was about at that time: “Luke was from the wrong side of the tracks. He was trying to prove himself to the mob and they said to prove it, you have to go kill a senator Mitch Williams. Luke couldn’t go through with it, which meant he was a dead man. He went back to the Campus Disco which he owned and Laura was there. She was waiting for her husband (Scotty Baldwin). So, when Laura was trying to comfort Luke, things started to get out of control.”

THE COINED “SEDUCTION”

“The script which I wrote was 110 pages, which was typical at the time. Gloria Monty, who was a brilliant executive producer and director who changed daytime, was the director of that episode,” explained Anderson on the writing for the soap back in the late 70s. “They probably cut 30 pages of material, because she was so intent on the rape and making it as brutal as she could. So, we were just going forward and thinking, ‘Oh, my God! That was really awful.'”

Over decades, the moment was called as aforementioned, “a seduction,” a “date rape,” and then as GH viewers recalled, it was in 1998 that Luke admitted to his son Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) that he actually raped his mother, Laura.

Photo: ABC

ANDERSON COULD NO LONGER DEFEND THE STORY POINT

It is not lost on Anderson, how GH at the time, tried to pass off the on-screen incident, “In retrospect, and I believe Michelle Val Jean (creator, head-writer, executive producer of Beyond the Gates) once said that it upset her, that we would say it was really a ‘seduction’ and all of those things, because it was not. It was rape, and (back then) I would try to, in a sense, defend it, and frankly, I was wrong,” revealed Sheri.

“I wrote the rape episode and I actually wrote the episode after it and we had Emily McLaughlin who played nurse Jessie Brewer who came to me later and said, ‘thank you.’ Because she said, ‘I wrote the aftermath of it so poignantly for her and Genie,’ recalled Sheri. “Then, we had Irene Kassorla, the real-life therapist come in, and on the show do group therapy sessions. So, it was really fascinating for me  I thought that we were doing it extremely well, and I still think we did it extremely well. But, yes, it was rape, and it was wrong.”

Photo: ABC

GLORIA MONTY SWORE SHE WOULD NEVER MARRY LUKE AND LAURA

In an ironic twist, when Pat Falken Smith and Sheri left General Hospital to return to Days of Our Lives, suddenly Luke and Laura were getting married, after Gloria Monty swore she would never let them tie the knot. As soap fans know, the wedding remains the most-watched episode in soap opera in history with over 30 million people tuning-in on November 16 and 17 of 1981.

“People talk about that story thinking Luke raped Laura, and then they got married. No! Luke raped Laura, but it destroyed their lives with the secrets that they carried. Laura would not tell anybody that Luke was the one who raped her, and their lives were altered in so many ways. It took a long time to bring them back as a couple because they had such chemistry personally, so it was just the obvious way to go,” explained Anderson of the writers mindset at the time. “Gloria Monty said to us, ‘We’ll never marry them.’ Then, when as a writing team we left and went to Days of Our Lives, she married them two months later.”

You can catch our full informative chat with Sheri Anderson below.

So, what did you think about what really went on behind the scenes at General Hospital when the decision came down to have Luke rape Laura in the controversial scenes? Did you appreciate the insight provided by Sheri? Is it still one of the more troubling plot points in the storied history of Luke and Laura to you? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

This week on General Hospital, who’s a fool, who’s a savior and who will avoid capture? That’s the questions that the latest video promo from the ABC daytime drama series offers up for episodes airing June 15-19.

First, after being taken to the PCPD, Tracy is fuming mad that Chase (Josh Swickard) once again believes in his ex-wife Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) word. This time, Willow claimed she was pushed into the water at the Quartermaine boathouse by Tracy (Jane Elliot). Now, racy tells Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Justine (Nazneen Contractor), “Willow Cain threw herself into the lake and this fool fell for it.” We already know, Justine has been side-eyeing Chase of how he repeatedly has taken the law into his own hands concerning his ex-wife. Will Chase EVER get a grip and realize Willow is a manipulative woman capable of heinous crimes?

Next, Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) comes loaded for bear to Carly’s (Laura Wright) along with two men from the WSB. He tells her that.“We have reason to believe that Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) is on the premises.” Charlotte (Bluesy Burke) is also there at the time and the two could not look more nervous or suspicious if they tried. Is Valentin already searching Wyndemere for Josslyn (Eden McCoy) at the time of Cullum’s unexpected arrival at Carly’s, or is he still hiding in her attic? Stay tuned.

Courtesy/ABC

SPOILERS

Then, in the heart-stopping moment, its the first we have seen of Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) and Rocco (Finn Carr) since thy went on the run. However, Rocco enters their hideaway and cries, “No! No! No! No!” He sees an unconscious Britt lying on the floor, and fears the worse. We already know she does not have the medication she needs to prevent her Huntington’s disease symptoms from progressing. In a panic, he makes a desperate phone call. But to who? Rocco says, “I need your help!

Take a look at the this week’s General Hospital spoilers promo entitled “Reasonable Doubt” below and in case you missed it the official spoilers for the week here.

Now, let us know, who do you think Rocco calls in a panic when Britt looks to be out cold? Do you think Chase will reveal that this entire time he has been undercover playing Willow to trap her, or do you still believe he is that big a doofus? Weigh-in via the comment section below.