General Hospital's Will Lipton Weighs In On Cameron's Sex Tape Scandal
It's no secret that "General Hospital" has always had one of the best "teen scenes" on daytime television.
In the early 90s, there was Jason and A.J. Quartermaine, Karen Wexler, Keesha Ward, Robin Scorpio, Jagger and Stone Cates, and Brenda Barrett, who dealt with alcoholism, and drug addiction, HIV diagnoses, and being kidnapped, held hostage, and shot at. In the late 90s, there was Elizabeth Webber, Emily Quartermaine, Nikolas Cassadine, Lucky Spencer, and Zander Smith, were put through, stabbings, fires, sexual assaults, overdoses, and more kidnappings and shootings. In the early 00s there was Brook Lynn and Dillon Quartermaine, Sage and Diego Alcazar, and Maxie, Georgie, and Lucas Jones, who experienced much of the same.
These days, Elizabeth's son Cameron Webber, Nikolas' son Spencer Cassadine, along with Josslyn Jacks, and Trina Robinson make up the core four of the current teen group. Though only college freshmen, Josslyn has already had to contend with the death of her high school boyfriend Oscar Nero from cancer, they suffered the loss of their friend Dev Cercei when he was blown up by a bomb, Trina and Cameron were kidnapped, and barely survived a gunfight, and Spencer went to prison for stalking and harassing his step-mother (via Soaps in Depth).
Now, the most recent addition to the crew is Spencer's manipulative girlfriend Esme Prince whose only goal is to stir up trouble wherever she goes. Most recently, she recorded a secret video of Josslyn and Cameron losing their virginity to each other, emailed it to the entire Port Charles University student body, and then framed Trina for the crime (via Soaps). Talk about a ruthless mean girl!
So how does Cameron's portrayer William Lipton feel about this traumatic new development in his character's life?
William Lipton is happy that General Hospital is pointing out double standards between men and women
The release of the non-consensual sex tape of Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) and Cameron Webber was undoubtedly a traumatic event for both teens—if only it hadn't been shown on the big screen in the middle of one of their college classes or gone viral on the internet (via Soap Opera Spy). Not to mention the added violation of having their experience of having sex for the first time exposed to the world.
Following the leak, Cameron's experience with the public was much different than Josslyn's. On several occasions, Cam mentioned how he was getting virtual high-fives and receiving private messages regarding his "performance" after people viewed the video (via Soap Central). In contrast, Joss was sexually harassed by strangers, was called terrible names, had her body critiqued, and basically had her reputation destroyed—all stemming from the very same experience that was garnering Cam's congratulations.
Within the "General Hospital" universe, Cam began to realize the discrepancies between how he and Josslyn were being treated and felt much compassion for his girlfriend in the face of such unfairness. In a conversation with Soap Opera Digest William Lipton praised the show for addressing these issues. He said, "[Cam] sees the different treatment that Josslyn is getting, which I'm so happy they touched on, the double standard about the intimate lives of men and women." The actor added that this experience has helped Cam to better understand some of the issues that female-presenting people face that he didn't necessarily recognize before.
Cameron Webber and Josslyn Jacks spoke out about their experience
After talking it over with their respective mothers, Josslyn Jacks and Cameron Webber decided to take up Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) on her offer to write an article for The Invader that would tell their side of the sex tape story (via SoapHub). Their hope was that they would be able to get the truth of the situation out to the public before other media outlets had a chance to sensationalize it. Cameron was very supportive of Josslyn during the decision-making process, understanding that the outcome could have a greater impact on her than on him, and giving her space to figure out what she was comfortable with doing.
The article ultimately discussed the same gender-based double standards that the soap itself was addressing, as well as the violation and victimization that the two teens were dealing with. Following the release of the story, a classmate of Joss' named Adam (played by "GH" star Maurice Benard's real-life son Joshua Benard) apologized for acting inappropriately toward her previously (via Soap Central). He explained that he had read the Invader article which helped give him some perspective on the situation and told Joss and Cam that they were brave for speaking out.
"General Hospital" knocked it out of the park with this narrative choice. It's heartwarming for viewers to see not only Cameron's maturity toward the situation, Josslyn's bravery, and Alexis' thoughtful and sensitive reporting, but also how one of their own peers could be open to learning and also be willing to own up to his own wrongdoing. This storyline is an excellent educational moment for younger viewers of the soap about how to handle adversity with grace.
William Lipton shares how Cameron Webber cares deeply about his friends
The nefarious Esme Prince (Avery Pohl) has hatched a sinister plot to frame Josslyn Jacks' best friend Trina Robinson (now Tabyana Ali) for the leaked sex tape (via Soaps in Depth). Though no one in the entire city of Port Charles thinks there's even a remote possibility that Trina is guilty, she was still arrested and is now facing expulsion from PCU and a criminal trial that could land her in prison. A major storyline on "GH" in recent weeks has everyone from Trina's friends, family, and locals like private investigator Sam Morgan, gallery owner Ava Jerome, Mayor Laura Collins, and others trying to prove her innocence (via Daytime Confidential).
Cameron, who has always been portrayed as a kind and compassionate kid who cares deeply about those around him, is also distraught about Trina's predicament. The fact that he even has the energy to fight on his friend's behalf is admirable when he's also dealing with his mother being institutionalized, caring for his younger brothers, and working two jobs. William Lipton told Soap Opera Digest, "[Cam's] been dealt this very poor hand, and yet the people he's thinking about are his friends . . . His main thoughts that concern him are about his girlfriend . . . and he's also very concerned about Trina being arrested."
Currently, Cam has somehow found the time to work with Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Chavez) in secret to hopefully expose Esme's lies and have the charges against Trina dropped (via Soap Opera Spy). With so many people working hard on Trina's behalf, in addition to her own determination to clear her name, here's hoping that the truth will come out and scheming rich girl Esme will finally get what she deserves.