General Hospital fame Sarah Joy Brown reveals the incident “that blew up [her] life”

Former General Hospital star Sarah Joy Brown appeared on Maurice Benard's podcast State of Mind on Sunday, September 1, 2024. The podcast, which often focuses on mental health and features celebrities sharing their experiences, provided a platform for Brown to open up as well.

Disclaimer: This article mentions s*xual assault and implied violence.

The actress shared an incident that, in her words, "blew up [her] life". She recalled an instance in 2016 when she was slipped a knockout drug in her drink and taken advantage of. Brown elaborated, saying that she was bought a drink by a stranger and did not remember anything from that night after. The next morning, the actress said she woke up to a headache, in someone else's clothes.

"I was roofied, and I was r*ped. Violently, from what I could tell. I don’t have any memory of it."

Brown mentioned that she decided to open up about the incident since she read articles about cases of knockout drug-related violence increasing. She hopes to use her platform to advocate against it and campaign for safety of women.

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What did Sarah Joy Brown say in Maurice Benard's podcast?

Sarah Joy Brown started by recounting her journey on General Hospital and remembered a time when her character Carly suffered a miscarriage. Brown mentioned that she had miscarried her own pregnancy on set, which is an experience she drew from to authentically portray her role on screen.

The actress also mentioned her Celiac Disease and dyslexia diagnoses. However, she significantly spoke about her struggle with relationships and an incident in her life that shook her mental health.

Brown explained that she was at a bar in Brooklyn, waiting for a friend when a stranger offered to buy her a drink and she agreed. The actress went on to recall that she woke up the next morning with no memory of the night and someone else's clothes on.

The actress fought back tears as she mentioned reporting that she had been r*ped to the NYPD Brooklyn Special Victims Unit. She hoped that sharing her story would raise awareness, campaign for better ways of testing for assault, and setting up proper mechanisms of investigation and prosecution.

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Who did Sarah Joy Brown play on General Hospital?

Brown and Benard also discussed their General Hospital journeys on the podcast episode, with Brown fondly recalling her time as Carly Roberts on the soap. She also went on to be cast as another character Claudia after the role of Carly was recast with Laura Wright.

In the storyline, Carly was initially paired up with Jason Morgan, but she cheated on him with Sonny Corinthos Jr. Brown mentioned rewatching that portion of the soap and thinking about her character's journey. She said:

"The story was complex. But it was so well-told and I felt incredibly supported with the cast of actors that I was working with."

Brown returned to the soap briefly in 2008 as Claudia Zacchara. She briefly romanced Sonny but it soon turned into a rivalry since the two were a part of enemy mob factions. She exited the role in 2009.

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Audiences can watch General Hopsital via the ABC Channel. New episodes of the soap are released on all weekdays.