Y&R Actor Jermaine Rivers Exposes Online Hate — and Sends a Powerful Message

Ah, welcome to daytime, Jermaine Rivers. The Young & Restless newcomer seems to have just discovered that visiting social media has become a lot like entering Thunderdome. “I’m convinced that most (not all) of today’s so-called soap fans are far removed from the sweet old ladies who watched it back in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s,” he tweeted. “The internet has created some Straight Savages who are mean-spirited and tune in to just complain about the shows they watch.

“What happened to watching soaps for the love of it?” he asked. “Why are y’all so mad, hateful and triggered?”

To be clear, Rivers isn’t responding to any remarks that have been made about him and his Genoa City counterpart, Damian. “I’m not talking about me… I rarely look at the comments and when I do, I shrug it off. But looking across the board… the stuff that I’m seeing online ab

One commenter suggested that maybe viewers needed to be reminded that soaps aren’t supposed to be like real life; they’re meant to be wild and unpredictable, an escape from our day-to-day. “Facts!!!” Rivers responded. “I watched soaps as a kid with my mom and even during my lunch break with other soldiers when I was on active duty (Army). We all enjoyed it for what it was… pure entertainment.”

Another of Rivers’ followers floated the idea that fans would be more likely to heap praise rather than criticism on the shows if they were just, you know, better. He wasn’t buying it, though. “It comes down to emotional intelligence,” he theorized. “If someone gets triggered by watching a soap, there’s a deeper problem that’s not being addressed in their personal life. It’s clearly evidence of some unhealed trauma that the viewer hasn’t worked through.

“Let’s not place blame on a fictional TV character or storyline that’s being played out for entertainment purposes as an excuse for toxic behavior,” he continued. “We’re not dodging accountability over here!”