‘General Hospital’ Odds & Ends: A Port Charles-WWE Crossover?
Of all the General Hospital crossovers throughout the years, this one is definitely the most interesting of all. Thanks to Maurice Benard’s very popular YouTube show, we had this very interesting mashup…in a manner of speaking. But there’s a bigger conversation happening at the same time. And that, too, is a beautiful thing.
‘General Hospital’ star Maurice Benard hosts ‘State of Mind’
Maurice Benard may be known to General Hospital fans as the dastardly Sonny Corinthos, but he’s also a mental health advocate. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22, Benard went public with his own mental health issues in a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He turned that confession into activism with his popular YouTube show, State of Mind.
According to the official State of Mind website, the ultimate goal is to destigmatize issues around mental health. For what are perhaps obvious reasons, Benard particularly advocates for those with bipolar disorder. He also talked extensively about his diagnosis in a 2020 memoir, Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital.
His most recent guest was WWE superstar AJ Mendez (aka AJ Lee, aka Miss April)
The General Hospital star often has guests from in and out of the soap opera world on State of Mind. His most recent guest was April Jeannette Mendez, who went by AJ Mendez when she wrestled for the WWE. She also, sometimes, went by the names AJ Lee and Miss April. Today, she’s a motivational speaker, an executive producer for WOW — Women of Wrestling, and an author.
Mendez’s 2017 book, Crazy is My Superpower, became a New York Times best-seller. She is also an advocate for several causes, including animal welfare and mental health. And, like Benard, Mendez is afflicted with bipolar disorder, as well.
So, it made sense that she’d drop by State of Mind and have a chat with the General Hospital star about the affliction.
They discussed her mental health
In a previous episode of State of Mind, Benard spoke to 9-year-old Max Tomlin, who billed himself as “General Hospital‘s littlest, biggest fan.” In that episode, Tomlin made reference to Mendez. And after doing his research, Benard decided to have her on the show.
And while on the show, Mendez spoke candidly about coming out from a “dark night of the soul” that bipolar disorder can sometimes bring. She explained, too, that she wrote her memoir to give people insight into her affliction. “From the outside, it looked like I had everything in the whole world!” she said. “I was on TV, and I am a champion, dream career, and I got married, a perfect, wonderful year. But a lot of times with bipolar disorder, big life changes throw you off. If it is a high, you are going to hit a low. Nobody knew. This is why I became a mental health advocate. This is why I decided to write the book.”
Much respect is due to the General Hospital star for shedding light on this very sensitive topic.
