As the Mighty Morph Power Rangers celebrat s 20th anniversary, David Yost, the actor who played the origal Blue Ranger, shar the story of how he overme bullyg Hollywood, suicidal tennci, and a nervo breakdown on the road to acceptg himself as a gay man.
Contents:
- WELE THE FIRST OUT-GAY POWER RANGER!
- ORIGAL BLUE POWER RANGER DAVID YOST ON GAY REPRENTATN NETFLIX'S POWER RANGERS RNN SPECIAL
- GO, GAY POWER RANGER!
- THE POWER RANGERS INTRODUC ITS FIRST GAY CHARACTER
- LE POWER RANGER BL éTA GAY ET HARCELé PAR SA PRODUCTN
WELE THE FIRST OUT-GAY POWER RANGER!
Related: A mighty morphg marriage proposal for the gay Power Rangers. A clip om the episo shows the other characters fdg out that their fellow Ranger is gay when she walks off holdg her girliend’s hand.
ORIGAL BLUE POWER RANGER DAVID YOST ON GAY REPRENTATN NETFLIX'S POWER RANGERS RNN SPECIAL
And jt last year, reports were circulatg that the follow-up Power Rangers film was set to clu a transgenr ranger the st and that the Blue Ranger was gog to be wrten as a gay character, though no new velopments on those onts have surfaced sce then. Beyond a nfirmatn that green is undoubtedly the gayt lor, fans are given an troductn to Izzy Garcia’s romantic life the thirteenth episo of the show. Origal Blue Power Ranger David Yost on gay reprentatn Netflix's Power Rangers rnn special "It's taken a long time to get there, " says the actor, who me out as gay after leavg Mighty Morph Power Rangers 1996.
In the begng, I certaly didn't want people to know that I was gay, " he said. ""I put myself through nversn therapy bee I didn't wanna be gay. LGBTQIA+ pertas llectively to people who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer (or those qutng their genr inty or sexual orientatn), tersex, and asexual.
Riley Griff's actor, Michael Taber, stated that he portrayed the character as gay and as "havg a thg" for Chase Randall. Monty's actor, Caleb Bend, stated that he portrayed the character as gay and as havg a csh on Victor Vcent. ↑ 'Power Rangers' Gay Character Storyle: Yellow Ranger Plot Explaed | Hollywood Reporter Tri om the movie.
GO, GAY POWER RANGER!
David Yost says he knew he was gay by the time he was the send gra.
For Yost, the journey to accept himself as a gay man has been filled wh fear, danger, and self-loathg.
"In the church I went to as a kid, I always got msag that beg gay was wrong, that was a s and agast God. People church would make horrible ments about gay people, and while they weren't talkg about me specifilly, I knew they were, bee I knew I was gay. It was there, he says, that his feelgs of self-loathg eased and he took his first steps toward acceptg himself as a gay man.
THE POWER RANGERS INTRODUC ITS FIRST GAY CHARACTER
A., I ma a pact wh myself that I would no longer be gay, " Yost says. So I had nvced myself that meant I wasn't gay.
He was regularly lled antigay slurs like "faggot, " and he learned his stars were qutned private about his sexualy by producers on a number of ocsns. I jt wanted to be left alone and allowed to act, but this 'gay thg' kept gettg my way. I didn't want to be gay, and I was sred speakg up would jeopardize my reer.
"Dperate to rega ntrol of his life, Yost unrwent gay-to-straight "nversn therapy" durg the followg two years before eventually led to a nervo breakdown. "I would love to see a gay character troduced on a show like Power Rangers, " he says.
LE POWER RANGER BL éTA GAY ET HARCELé PAR SA PRODUCTN
"There's a whole realm of possible stori there we've only begun to tap to, and gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, qutng, and tersex young people need to see themselv reflected world around them. Warng: The article ntas referenc to homophobia and suici. David Yost, who played Billy, the Blue Ranger, knew he was gay while workg on the show and had to take preutns to make sure no one would fd out.
“I said I’m not gonna be gay, I’m gonna foc on my reer. Yost rells overhearg producers and -stars watchg footage of him and throwg out homophobic slurs. The emotnal toll Yost alt wh exemplifi what was like for many gay people Hollywood at the time.
“Everybody thks everybody Hollywood is accepted and s great to be gay. That homophobia me to a head durg productn of the show’s fourth season, Power Rangers Zeo. It was a major step down for the character and Yost feels was part bee many the productn staff believed that bee he was gay he uldn’t be a superhero.