We here at Soap Opera News aren’t just soap opera press, but also soap fans ourselves. We watch every day and have our likes, dislikes, and loves the same as every other fan. We strive to bring soap fans closer to the shows and the soap actors they love and to do it in a positive, uplifting manner.
We do fun pieces about who we thought was Best Dressed and Couple of the Week and who gave stand-out performances but we never do a “worst of” piece or a negative op-ed. It’s not who we are or who we want to be. But we aren’t in this fandom alone and when a fan reaches out to us, we are happy to give them a platform to share their feelings.
Recently a fan of General Hospital‘s Spencer (Nicholas Alexader Chavez) and Trina (Tabyana Ali), or Sprina as their fans call them, sent us this email and asked us to publish it to shed light on an issue that they believe is going on with their pairing.
“I have never been a hardcore soap opera fan. I have seen stories over the years that I have watched. This changed in July of 2021 when a talented, charismatic actor took over the role of Spencer Cassadine and was instantly attracted to the character of Trina, then played by Sydney Mikayla. They were instantly popular, much to the apparent surprise of the soap that the character of Trina was no longer their intended sidekick. The character of Trina is African American and is currently played by Tabyana Ali. The chemistry and popularity continued even with a recast of Trina, to the testament of Nicholas Chavez and Tabyana Ali (Spencer and Trina).
The show started on a high after 2 years of teasing this couple who trend daily, and the actors sold-out live events. They have been refusing to show the intimacy between these two characters because they are an interracial couple the Sprina fandom believes and we want the media to cover this story so General Hospital knows this is serious. The fans and more importantly the actors deserve to portray an onscreen love story equivalent to their white-coupled colleagues. There is no reason on a soap two young 20-year-olds in love haven’t said I love you or had a love scene when everyone around them including their parents have.
It’s unrealistic and disrespectful to the Sprina fans who are mostly African American women. As a black woman myself, seeing yourself onscreen and being in love is beautiful and should be an equal experience no matter what race you are. Sprina fans deserve more than their popular coupling propping up other couples to make them more popular. No one had to prop Sprina to make them popular. Nicholas just had chemistry with Sydney and Tabyana. Again as a viewer of color, I just want to see myself depicted fairly on television and after investing in this story for 2 years General Hospital needs to do better.” – D.B.
If you have any comments about storylines or the shows that you want to get out there, please feel free to send them to us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email us at soapoperadailynews@gmail.com.
The opinions expressed in the above piece are the sender’s own and do not reflect the opinions of Soap Opera News. All correspondence sent is the sole property of Soap Opera News and may be edited for clarity or space constraints.
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