The Young and the Restless’ Judith Chapman (Gloria) got quite a shock on May 12: She read a report that she had died after suffering a heart attack at her home while no one was around. Thankfully, it was “fake news,” she exclaimed on her Facebook page. “So strange, but all OK.”
Sadly, BS like this is becoming more and more common. Just a couple of months ago, Chapman’s Young & Restless co-star Beth Maitland (Traci) had to take to social media to say that no, she hadn’t passed away, either.
Personally, I don’t get it. Here at Soaps.com, we get things wrong now and then. I’ve called Stefan DiMera Stefan Cassadine by mistake and suggested pairing characters that I forgot were related. It happens. But none of us would ever just make up a story about a real person, much less one as vicious as these.
What’s the point of a fictitious article like that, anyway? Sure, Chapman’s fans may click on it — I know my heart stopped for a second when I read that upsetting headline. But once we find out that it’s a lie, none of us are ever going to trust that site again — or return to it.
Particularly galling is the specificity of the story. It wasn’t just an obit of a very-much-living legend, it was a detailed account of how she supposedly passed. It painted a picture that made a disturbing thought even more so.
Translation: Someone — and how twisted do you have to be? — sat down at their computer and conjured up in their mind a whole tragic scenario with which to unsettle Chapman’s fans. Is this a career for them? Some kind of sick hobby? Take a walk instead. Read a book. Come up with a storyline for Gloria instead.
It breaks my heart to no end that Young & Restless uses the character — and her portrayer, the Bette Davis of daytime — so infrequently. What I wouldn’t give to see her thrust into Victor’s orbit, maybe as a henchwoman to do the dirtier work that son Michael would prefer not to. Being the quintessential hopeless romantic, Gloria would develop a crush on the boss.
Of course, Victor only has eyes for Nikki (this week). So Gloria could find herself drowning her sorrows at Society, only for Nick to sidle up and ask why she looks so glum. “My ship’s done sailed,” she says. “I think I’ve had my last great love.”
“Ah, you and me both,” he sighs, ordering a beer.
“But you’re young, vital,” Gloria points out. “You have your whole life ahead of you.”
“And… ?” Nick replies. “So do you.”
“I have significantly less life ahead of me than you, my dear.”
“Depends on how you live it,” Nick winks. And just like that, Gloria could find herself entangled in a May/December love affair that puts a new spring in both her step and her lovelorn lover’s! See? Isn’t that nicer than a detailed obit for someone who is alive and well?