Fans express outrage at Kelly Monaco's 'General Hospital' exit after 2 decades
"General Hospital" fans are expressing outrage at Kelly Monaco's exit from the soap opera series.
Monaco, who has starred as Sam McCall in Port Charles on "GH" since 2003, is set to appear as her long-running character for the last time this fall, USA TODAY confirmed Tuesday.
After news of the "Dancing with the Stars" alum's departure from the series surfaced, her supporters took to X and Instagram to show their support for the "GH" star — and fans weren't happy with the decision.
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The two-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, who first starred as Livvie Locke on the "GH" spinoff series "Port Charles" before joining the flagship show, is a fan favorite. The Pennsylvania native won the first-ever Mirrorball Trophy on season one of "DWTS" alongside her partner Alec Mazo in 2005.
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Later, she returned to the series for the 2012 all-star season with her pro dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy, where she came in third place.
'Kelly did NOTHING to deserve this,' fans say after Kelly Monaco's 'General Hospital' exit
On X, fans slammed Frank Valentini, the executive producer for the ABC soap opera, writing "Imagine if Kelly Monaco is rehired and Frank gets fired. Poetic justice."
One X user wrote: "Kelly Monaco did NOTHING to deserve this and that's all I'm gonna say about it." Another said, "Kelly Monaco has been disrespected by Frank, Varni, & their writers for YEARS. Constantly sidelined & why? Not like Sam (McCall) ever struggled for material."
Another wrote: "The amount of disrespect Kelly Monaco and many of (the) women cast of Port Charles gets is ridiculous. This is awful. Sam is one of the best characters and the disservice the writers have given the character is why this ship is sailing. Make this right!"