Anyone need a party planner? Look no further than Jai Rodriguez, who’s returning to gaytime TV for a guest role on The Young and the Restless playing Pietro, “a successful and sought-out party planner to the movers and shakers in Genoa City.” We’re expecting more than helium balloons and Party City tablescapes, Jai!
Third time’s a charm for Rodriguez, who appeared on All My Children in 1993 and Days of Our Lives in 2012. Of course, the gays always knew he had style. It was just a matter of time before the folks of Genoa City (Y&R‘s fictional setting) caught on.
It seems like only yesterday—if yesterday was 22 years ago—that the OG Fab Five were making the world a more stylish place to live. Rodriguez, dubbed the “Culture Vulture,” was the expert on all things pop culture, as well as relationships, and has since leveraged his expertise into a multi-faceted career, including theater, film, TV, and cabaret.
How about we take this to the next level?
Rodriguez will appear in four episodes, the first airing on May 28, so if you’ve been out of the loop, now’s the time to set your DVR. The Queer Eye alum is part of a wave of LGBTQ+ actors and storylines making their way into daytime TV.
Adrian Anchonado joined the cast of General Hospital, while Van Hansis co-stars as Lucas Jones, the adopted LGBTQ+ son of Dr. Tony Jones and ex-wife Bobbie Spencer.
“It’s great that we’re in a place where it’s so casual, just like how it is in life,” Hansis told TV Insider. “There are gay people in life, so there should be gay people on soaps and queer people and trans people and all of that. So, the fact that it’s so ingrained and it’s not like ‘the gay character’ or ‘the gay storyline’ feels really nice.”
But daytime’s biggest storyline so far this year has been on Beyond the Gates, the first Black-led soap opera in history.
Brandon Claybon plays Martin Richardson, a successful congressman living outside the gated community with his husband and two adopted children. Richardson has eyes on the Oval Office, but will family drama squelch his ambition to become the first Black gay president?
His husband is played by former This Is Us star Mike Manning.
Claybon, whose credits include Grey’s Anatomy, General Hospital, and dozens of national commercials, sees a bright future.
“I think the platforms for diversity have grown so much,” Claybon told The Quintessential Gentleman. “We have so many outlets now and I believe from Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon there are so many different outlets. I think we are getting better at writing our own stories and producing and directing and it is all across the field. So in this day and age, I think it is better but I always feel like there is so much more to improve on when it comes to diversity. For all of our brothers and sisters of color. It’s better but I think we still have some rooms to grow.”
A gay storyline is coming to a new daytime soap opera with eyes on the White House
Brandono Claybon joins the cast of “Beyond the Gates,” a groundbreaking new soap opera celebrating Black lives with a gay twist.
Why Jai Rodriguez is the perfect party planner casting
With 100 episodes of the original Queer Eye in the gay history books, Rodriguez has picked up his fair share of design and entertaining tips, including co-authoring Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: The Fab 5’s Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better. And they’ll all be put to good use as is character plans an epic party for Y&R‘s matriarch, Nikki Newman (played by Melody Thomas Scott, who’s been a series regular since 1979—she deserves a party!).
IRL, Rodriguez has been putting his skills to good use. Last fall, he hosted the LGBTQ Task Force‘s annual gala, which honored Queer Eye 2.0’s Karamo, with a special performance by Ginger Minj. He’s also been a longtime advocate and supporter of AIDS Walk Los Angeles, having lost an aunt to AIDS-related complications when he was 16.
“There’s still a stigma with communities of color,” Rodriguez told People in 2021.”They’re not comfortable or willing to talk about sexuality,” he says, referring to the rising number of HIV-positive cases in the Latinx community. “It made me sick to my stomach that… rates are going down on a national level, but they’re actually going up in certain communities.” Studies confirm that between 2010-2022, while HIV diagnoses decreased by 12% overall, Hispanic/Latino people saw a 24% increase.
Queerty honored Rodriguez in 2021 with the Queerties Innovator Award for his continued advocacy and visibility:
He’s kept a packed calendar, and clearly incorporated some gym time into his hectic schedule given the ocassional thirsty midrif posts. Here’s what Rodriguez has been up to lately. We can’t wait to see what looks he turns this spring on The Young and the Restless.
