Let’s talk about sex! Samuel Johnson throws support behind saucy cause

Over the past few years, Australian actor Samuel Johnson has gone out of his way to raise much-needed funds for cancer research, having founded charity ‘Love Your Sister’ with his late sister Connie two years ago.

Connie sadly passed away from terminal breast cancer in September 2017, at the age of just 40. However in her final years, she joined her brother in launching the charity and the duo set a goal of raising $10 million through a series of fundraising efforts — something Samuel continued, and has since accomplished, following her death.

Now the 42-year-old has found another way to raise money and awareness for cancer research, as well as starting an important conversation about the impact cancer can have on sexuality. Samuel has partnered with sex toy brand Womanizer to launch an online store on the official Love Your Sister website called After Dark, where people can get their hands on a range of fun sex toys, designed to help cancer sufferers whose sex lives changed post-cancer treatment.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Starts at 60 the actor said he’s on a mission to break down the stigma associated with cancer and sexuality. He said: “As with most stigmas, they are very well camouflaged because the lid hasn’t lifted yet. So, it actually took me many years before I even stumbled across it as an issue.”

While some side effects of cancer treatment go away fairly quickly, others can take months or even years to overcome completely. It’s also common for patients to struggle with their body image or have less desire for sexual intimacy post-cancer treatment.

When asked if he ever discussed these types of changes with Connie before she passed away, Samuel responded: “No, never. We had a rule she didn’t speak to me about her treatments. I asked her at the very beginning if we could just be brother and sister, so I didn’t deal with the treatment complications of Connie’s journey.”

However, he did recall one time when he helped his sister with a bath, revealing it was at that moment he realised how cruel the effects of cancer can be.

“I helped her with her bath soon after her double mastectomy and you know that was the first time I got a real indication of just how brutal the effects are on the body,” he said. “That poor girl. At that moment when I helped with her bath, it became very real.”

Samuel now hopes the new initiative helps encourage other people to be open and vocal about their sex lives post-cancer treatment. “It’s okay to say f**k cancer and it’s okay to talk about sex toys,” he said. “Why not celebrate remission? It doesn’t just need to be a glass of wine!”

Samuel has worked tirelessly in the last few years to raise much-needed funds for cancer research, even taking part in Dancing with the Stars last year. The actor and his dance partner Jorja Freeman ended up winning the popular reality program, defeating Courtney Act and Constance Hall to take out the title. In addition, he won a $50,000 donation for the Love Your Sister charity.