News
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest Defends Appointment Of B&B's Colleen Bell As Ambassador To Hungary, While Daily Show's Jon Stewart & The Colbert Report Have Their Own Commentary On The Situation!
Courtesy/WashingtonPostTV
This week, it seems that pop culture just couldn’t steer away from the appointment by the U.S. Senate of The Bold and the Beautiful producer, Colleen Bell (wife of B&B’s Brad Bell) as the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary.
Citing her non-qualifications, and fundraising efforts , the press that covers politics in Washington certainly fired away at White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, who defended the appointment of Bell in a press conference with reporters earlier this week.
Earnest said to ABC’s Jonathan Karl, senior congressional reporter, who was not enthused over the appointment, “As it relates to Ambassador Bell, she had the President’s confidence that she will represent the United States and maintain the important relationship the United States has with the government and the people of Hungary.” He goes on to say that Colleen about her qualifications, “She has had her own private sector career and obviously someone who had succeeded in the business world.”
Courtesy/Comedy Central
When the reporter fires back that Bell helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for President Obama’s re-election campaign, which may have been one of the main reasons she was given the post, Press Secretary Earnest says: “I was not involved in this decision making process, but I can tell you the reason that she was chosen was that the president has complete confidence in her ability to represent the United States in that country.” Meanwhile on TV in his own send-up of the Bell appointment, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart said he felt sorry for the press secretary who has the worst job in our nations capital, stating, “How much does that guy (Secretary Earnest) just want to reach over and tag out?” Stewart said Wednesday night, after playing a clip from the press conference. “That is the greatest thing I have ever seen the president’s press secretary do,” Stewart said. “His entire job — his only job — is built around trying not to go, ‘Hey, look, I just f**ing work here.'”
Courtesy/ComedyCentral
Also, host/comedian Stephen Colbert riffed on the appointment of Bell on his show The Colbert Report on Comedy Central this past Thursday night. He even started his send-up with, “I love our nations ambassadors. What can I say, I’m an “ambassman”. That’s why I’ve been following the senate confirmation of the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. The President’s nominee got a lot of attention for being a ‘Bold’ choice, but also a ‘Beautiful’ one.” Colbert goes into a a clip package, and later goes into how producing on The Bold and the Beautiful is the perfect training ground for Bell to become the ambassador to Hungary. He goes on to say, “Hungary is a region rife with drama and the constant threat of violence. Exactly the situation the Forrester family routinely handles from their palacious estate while simultaneously running their fashion empire.”
Watch the clips below. The first from Washington Post TV of the press conference with Press Secretary Josh Earnest, and then the segments on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Then weigh-in on your thoughts to this: Do you think Colleen is being unfairly judged by her association with the soaps, (which always people deem to poke fun at), when it appears that many appointments to ambassadorships in this country have to do with those who have contributed major funds to help in re-elections or elections?
I’m with Senator McCain on this. Although President Obama isn’t the first president to hand out ambassadorships as prizes, I believe it is ill advised.
Why is there just “outrage” now? From what I believe there have been many ambassadors that have been actors, writers, (basically in show business) what is it about Colleen Bell that bothers them so much?
She admitted she had no idea what interests the USA has in Hungary. Not even sure why she wanted the appointment…a vacation maybe? Tell me how she IS qualified?
There are no real qualifications to be an ambassador. What most presidents look for is someone’s ability to at least represent U.S. interests well in the country they are going to, and be a trusted conduit for information between said country & the U.S. State Dept. Ambassadors don’t negotiate any formal deals. That’s the job the Secretary of State & POTUS. Where Bell is so lacking is that she couldn’t even do what most high school students can – which is B.S. their way through a simple Q&A. Did she even look at a friggin map of Europe? If she did, she should have been able to tell Senator McCain that U.S. interests in Hungary are to help them be strong against Russian aggression pushing westward into the former Soviet bloc territories. I mean, good God – this is basic 20th century American history – the century this woman was born in! Did she not notice ANYTHING that went on, like, oh, the fall of Russian communism. You don’t have to be a member of any party to be able to put 2+2 together. Just observant & more than a little intelligent.
She is a joke. I had to laugh when Josh Earnest spoke about her achieving great success in the private sector. She would probably be at a cashier desk in Macy’s if not for her family connections. I was surprised the reporter did not have a comeback for “chief liar” Earnest. As someone of Eastern European descent, I am offended that someone with her lack of knowledege of the significance of Eastern Europe in global affairs will be ambassador to a country of such significance.
Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report and Jon Stewart of The Daily Show are more than awesome! And- both are right on!
ALL presidents have assigned non-qualifications persons as ambassadors to whatever countries for whatever their reasons, it is comely done..
Soaps are always made fun of and used as material for comedians and all others to ridicule with campy sarcasm…
Soaps are seen as being unintelligent wacky stuff lol so a writer/producer of a soap opera could be seen as unintelligent also to put out such nonsense..
and the congress would see a soap opera as stupid stuff and reflecting the as same of the writer/producer LOL
Appointing Bell an ambassador position is a soap opera in itself LOL ..
Her lack of the significance of Eastern Europe knowledge is only matched by Obama’s lack of presidential leadership knowledge
As a Canadian I can”t really say one way or another about her qualifications , but I got a real kick from both Jon Stewart and Colbert stating why their video cannot be seen in Canada– usually there is just some bland statement about the video not being available,so I really enjoyed the humor they injected into it. I had a good laugh.
Why is this on a board about soap operas ? I could really care less about Colleen Bell she is of no interest to me we had the discussion a few days ago about Senator McCains comments enough. Let’s quit beating a dead horse she is a woman who has a lot of money and nothing between the ears I thought we had established that. Move On!!!!
k/kay..
This is Michael Fairman site, we are his guests..
Michael can put up anything he deems interesting..
Colleen Bell is an important soap opera person and it relates to her new career..
It is appropriate imo ..
The same as any soap person and their new projects and career moves..
🙂
Yes it is and if he did not appreciate my comment he would not post it. I stand by my statements tired of hearing about CB. We discussed her appointment and we all know why she got it and bloody fine just fatigued out with this. Tired of hearing about racism, homophobia, politics just would like o escape once in a while. 🙁
And you will be glad to know I am not going to read the comments anymore it has become childish this back and forth bantering. Not very healthy.
I guess she qualifies due to B&B airing in Hungary!
I guess this was Brad Bell’s way of writing her off the show! The most creative idea he has had yet. Is he taking credit for it?
It does seem that the position was bought & even the press secretary is dismayed by this report. However that said, don’t you have to live in the country for which you are ambassador? I suppose that’s one way to have a marriage :/
Ha Ha
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Days of our Lives long-running cast member James Reynolds revealed on the November 10 edition of Entertainment Tonight that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and his character of Abe Carver will now be going through an on-screen Parkinson’s battle as well.
Speaking with ET’s Nischelle Turner, the 80-year-old actor and Daytime Emmy winner shared how he attempted to hide the warning signs dating back to 15-20 years ago when he would have, “What they call the hallucinations. My wife (Lissa) would say, ‘You were hitting me last night in bed,’ and I would say, ‘What?!’ I was having these really horrible dreams.” Reynolds also added that he realized falling out of bed was an early symptom of Parkinson’s too.
Discussing the on-going tremors that have become more noticeable over time especially in hands, James shared that when he finally told the Days of our Lives cast they were nothing but “extraordinarily helpful and supportive.”
Photo: ET
SCREEN LIFE TO MIRROR REAL LIFE
Now with DAYS about to launch into Abe’s Parkinson’s storyline, Reynolds hopes that he can turn his experience into something positive by encouraging others facing the disease to keep fighting. During the sit-down, Reynolds co-star Jackée Harry (Paulina Price) recalls her reaction to learning of Reynolds’ real-life diagnosis and how she has continued to search for new treatments to inform James about.
Although Parkinson’s disease currently has no cure, there are medications and treatments can help those manage symptoms and improve quality of life. The condition progresses at a different pace from individual to individual.
As discussed in his conversation with ET, Reynolds cited Michael J. Fox and Alan Alda as two high-profile celebrities who have brought awareness to the disease.
Photo: JPI
In story on DAYS, Abe in recent weeks had been experiencing tremors which led to seek help and a diagnosis Dr. Kayla Johnson (Mary Beth Evans). Soon Abe and others will find out of his battle with Parkinson’s. Although on the promo for this week’s DAYS, Abe is seen telling Kayla, that he will do something, “when the time is right.”
James Reynolds is one of the most prolific performers, being the longest-running Black Actor in a role on a television series, not to mention his aforementioned Lead Actor Daytime Emmy win in 2018, and being inducted in 2025 into the Daytime Emmy Gold and Silver Society of honorees.
You can check out James’ in-depth conversation on his Parkinson’s diagnosis below.
Share your thoughts for James after learning of his health battle, and what do you think of Days of our Lives incorporating the disease into Abe Carver’s Salem storyline? Let us know in the comment section.
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B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
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