Karla Mosley is back in daytime starring in the CBS drama Beyond the Gates as Dani Dupree, a former model turned momager.
Mosley previously played fashion model Maya Avant in The Bold and the Beautiful, a role she recently said she would not want to play again. The character of Maya was initially introduced in 2013, and it was in 2015 when the character came out as transgender.
“When my boss asked me if I would do this story, I first was going to say no because it felt inappropriate for me to play that role as a cis woman,” Mosley told People. “I do identify as queer, but I’m not transgender.”
Mosley recalled that when Maya’s character was introduced as transgender, it was around the same time that Caitlyn Jenner opened up about her transition. The actress questioned whether to continue playing the role and was advised by friends, “if you don’t accept this story, this story won’t be told.” Mosley ended up taking the opportunity to bring light to the trans community.
“I am so grateful for that character because people who loved Maya and then had issues with what she said had to ask themselves like, even with a family member, ‘Well, if I loved her yesterday, why don’t I love her today?’ I actually had to grapple with that question, and I had so much feedback around healing that was able to happen within families and communities because of that storyline,” she said.
Mosley said that “at a certain point it really became truly inappropriate for me to play that role,” adding, “That’s why I stepped away from it. So no, I will not be playing another trans role.”
Although Mosley would never play a trans role again, she said she “would love to play a role with the kind of gravitas and importance that Maya had for sure.”