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:
- ORIGAL BLUE POWER RANGER DAVID YOST ON GAY REPRENTATN NETFLIX'S POWER RANGERS RNN SPECIAL
- PARENTS BEWARE: GAY 'POWER RANGERS' STAR BRAGS ABOUT LGBT CONTENT
- MIGHTY MORPH POWER RANGERS STAR SAYS GAY REPRENTATN WAS LONG OVERDUE
- WELE THE FIRST OUT-GAY POWER RANGER!
- GO, GAY POWER RANGER!
- THE GAY AGENDA HAS MENCED POWER RANGERS ARE OFFICIALLY GAY THE NEW FILM
- THE POWER RANGERS INTRODUC ITS FIRST GAY CHARACTER
- POWER RANGERS INTRODUC FIRST OPENLY GAY CEMATIC SUPERHERO
ORIGAL BLUE POWER RANGER DAVID YOST ON GAY REPRENTATN NETFLIX'S POWER RANGERS RNN SPECIAL
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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.
PARENTS BEWARE: GAY 'POWER RANGERS' STAR BRAGS ABOUT LGBT CONTENT
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“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.
MIGHTY MORPH POWER RANGERS STAR SAYS GAY REPRENTATN WAS LONG OVERDUE
“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.
WELE THE FIRST OUT-GAY POWER RANGER!
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. ” However, durg a panel at Power Morphin 2012, Pagter played d clips om behd the scen on the show cludg one that featured a homophobic slur.
The harassment Yost faced sent him to a eper darkns and he spent many years tryg to “get rid of” his sexualy, cludg many versns of the horrific “Pray the Gay Away.
GO, GAY POWER RANGER!
While gay character and relatnships, nor a gay actor like Yost, weren’t acceptable on the seri, straight characters and relatnships were. Marchand, who was an out lbian at the time, and the other wrers knew a gay Ranger was never a possibily at the time but 2004’s Power Rangers Do Thunr they troduced Hayley, the team’s rint tech expert. We were startg to thk, uld we, any pacy, troduce a gay character on this show?
In an terview wh Den of Geek, Marchand crg at the memory, parg to the famo Hays Co of early Hollywood that effectively banned direct reference or posive portrayal of gay characters films outsi of ep subtext.
The memory also provok great tratn om Marchand who knew that many executiv at Disney durg that time were gay but, “ jt wouldn’t have flown. Acrdg to Bend there ially wasn’t any reactn to him playg Monty as gay sce was “obv” to anyone who’d read the script.
THE GAY AGENDA HAS MENCED POWER RANGERS ARE OFFICIALLY GAY THE NEW FILM
Bend is key to strs that Monty beg gay was only his terpretatn for the character, he never would have openly nfsed his love for Victor. Director (and now current executive producer) Simon Bent nfirmed to Den of Geek that the gay relatnship was never implied the script.
While all of the directiv were tryg to be put place to curtail Bend’s performance he learned that this wasn’t the first time the topic of a gay character had e up recent years. He’d been told by people workg on the show for years that durg velopment people behd the scen had wanted and been phg for a gay character.
Addnally, Michael Taber, who played the character of Riley Power Rangers Do Charge om 2015-2016, revealed 2020 that he terpreted and played his part as gay.
THE POWER RANGERS INTRODUC ITS FIRST GAY CHARACTER
What mak this suatn all the stranger was that all of this was takg place at the same time that work was beg done on the 2017 Power Rangers film, which clud a gay character, although one that wasn’t out. “Anythg that I make, I want those gay storyl.
I don’t want to be like ‘the gay character. ’ I want to be a world where the characters are gay and this is their life. Comics was another area which Power Rangers uld have add gay characters.
“I was tryg to sneak gay this and queer that to everythg, ” she remembers, “(I would) get ught and be told, okay, well, ’s not the right time.
POWER RANGERS INTRODUC FIRST OPENLY GAY CEMATIC SUPERHERO
It was a giant leap forward for the anchise after endls years of subtext, missed opportuni, and outright homophobia. Wh feedback om GLAAD (Gay & Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn), the wrers refully crafted Izzy’s story to, as Bent scrib, “portray a piece of what kids may see their everyday life.
“From my first day on the show where there was a gay man who uldn’t even be out and who got a very hard time about beg gay? Now we’re at a pot where you n have a gay character on screen. 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. Related: A mighty morphg marriage proposal for the gay Power Rangers.