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THE TALK Secrets Revealed: Julie Chen Had Eye Surgery To Look Less Asian To Attain Goals In Broadcasting!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/CBS

Courtesy/CBS

On theĀ  season four premiere of The Talk, the ladies of the panel have been each taking turns sharing a very personal secret that has never before been told publicly or to each other.

On yesterday’s episode, Julie Chen revealed she had surgery on her eyes years ago after a local news director in Dayton Ohio, where she was at the beginnings of her news career as a field reporter and had made known she would like to be a news anchor, told her she looked bored during interviews, and a talent agent advised that without opening her eyes, she would never make it to a big market. This caused controversy in her family particularly since Julie is very proud of her Chinese heritage.

Listen to the heartbreaking tale of Julie’s difficult decision to try to move forward in her chosen profession to attain her goals where she faced significant racism and remarks due to her race.

Watch Julie reveal her secret on her eye surgery after the jump, and then let us know how you feel about her story!

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Forget about the eyes. Look at how much surgery she had on her nose

my thoughts exactly Lchan, that nose is only about half its original size

Michael

Please don’t write about these awful talk shows. We don’t care.

Excuse me, check the ratings. I care and plenty of people obviously DO care. The Talk has built a loyal audience that is growing steadily, little by little. I like Julie Chen, enjoy the show very much, and look forward to watching it each day. It’s a harmless, fun show that puts a smile on my face, and I appreciate this theme for the first week of their new season. If you don’t like/watch it, that’s fine, but don’t ruin it for the rest of us who do. You soap fans are NOT so far above everyone else. Yeah, stick your nose up. Grow up already! I suggest that you check the ratings for the different daytime talk shows. Obviously, many many people DO care.

This is my major gripe with so many crazy soap fans. Geez, a person can’t like/watch a soap as well as a couple of talk shows? Don’t you dare tell me what I should or should not care about, thank you very much.

Lisa– I don’t think soap fans think we are above talk shows. The sad truth is many of our beloved soaps were cancelled by networks and replaced by talk shows. If networks hadn’t done that, the black lash against talk shows by soaps fans would not exist. If talk shows get as many or more eyeballs watching them that sends a message to networks that they can do away with soaps altogether. So If you sense hostility toward talk shows by soap fans I think it is for that reason. They are threatening the existing four soaps.
In the old days networks has room for both genre and game shows and cooking shows for daytime, but as talk shows have become the genre of choice for daytime many soap fans will not support them because they are defending their soap.
We do realize talk shows have their fans, and if this was a website for talk shows this item would make sense, but to place it on soap site, knowing the animosity some soap fans have toward talk shows because they replaced their soaps, is just asking for comments like the one posted.
As human beings we should deeply care when individuals feel it necessary to alter their appearance in order to have a equal shot at a life many of us take for granted. I don’t think Anne was saying she doesn’t care about that issue, just as a soap fan visiting a soap site she doesn’t care to read about talk shows, which as for reasons I stated are seen as the enemy to the soaps.
I hope you understand that and realize it isn’t so much a slam against talk as it is our way of defending and trying to keep the four remaining soaps on air.

I agree. Stop the talk about The Talk.

So sad… she should have slapped that talent agent…then tried for a career in Canada…
we have many successful news broadcastors of many races.

wow she looks totally different, either way she is beautiful and its sad she was so discriminated agianst .

Discrimination is unacceptable, but things worked out well for her. She’s married to the President of CBS and she has a highly paid job which requires her to do nothing to engage in mindless patter.

Her eyes do look better after. She looks more trustworthy after. It also looks like she had some nose work done.

Talk abt brutal honesty! Tired tv show “the view” could only dream of topping that revelation! It’s completely not surprising though for julie chen to be told she’s not “relatable” enough bec of her Asian american features and heitage and she must conform to white standards of physical appearance for her career to prosper. This is something being told implicitly and explicitly to racial minorities by “tolerant” and “progressive” hollywood. Asian american actors and actresses and public personalities who are part white get more opportunities bec their looks conform more to Anglo features. It’s the same thing for other racial minorities. Why’d you think beyonce and jennifer lopez are called “most beautiful” women by entertainment press? Bec they’re light skinned and have blonde hair weaves and extensions. Bec they have more aquiline noses and comply to white standards of beauty. Actress viola davis is beautiful but she’d never be considered by entertainment press as the pinnacle of beauty bec she’s dark skinned and does not have an aquiline nose and even dares to show up to red carpets w/ her natural hair! It’s same thing for audience. It’s really horrid how films and tv shows expect racial minority audience to relate to white chars who are majority leading chars bec storylines must be told from a white char’s perspective. Yet whenever it’s a racial minority as the lead then it’s a “niche storyline” bec white audience won’t want to relate to a person of color. And thus that racial minority public figure must conform to white standards of physical appearance by getting plastic surgery like julie chen! Tv shows and movies from hollywood love to scream abt tolerance yet racism is alive and well thanks largely to them.

What a beautiful lady!

Wow. Discrimination in the news media. I’m shocked. I’m really shocked. Shame on you Ohio. Shame, shame, shame.

Seriously, I’m not surprised. Work discrimination happens everywhere. All she needed to do is change her makeup and she would have been fine.

I love the talk. julie chen is beautiful. I’m so happy that the talk is a big hit. i watch it every day.

It’s sad she felt she had to do that because she was beautiful before. However, she needs a refund as she is still a beautiful Asian woman who unfortunately had WAY TOO much plastic surgery!

All of you ladies on the Talk are BEAUTIFUL I’m so proud of all of you for bringing out your secrets. And believe me I know what I’m talking about you see I had a stroke 3 years ago which was just following up a heart valve replacementto make a long story
short I now have 2 cow valves, yes cow! in my heart and I’ve been code blue or dead 3 times ,but Julie whom ever made you painted you with a golden paint brush,( your beautiful) and I’m glad you ladies have your show it has gotten me through some tough times yall stay the way you areyour all so sweet and honest.

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guyĀ  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)Ā  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene, Ā Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.ā€

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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