GH’s Kelly Monaco Fires Back at Dismissal – Accuses Show of ‘Retaliation at Its Finest’

It’s been a little more than a month since word leaked that General Hospital had let go Kelly Monaco and was killing off Sam McCall this fall, and at last, the actress has broken her silence on the matter. Replying to an Instagram poster who said that she was “monotone, had no primary roles and [is] just boring,” the actress wrote: “‘No primary role’… do your homework. When Billy Miller was fired [as Drew in 2019], Sam’s storyline stopped.

“Stripping Sam of every characteristic she had. Something I worked for decades to build… Slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience,” she added. “Call it what you will… retaliation at it[s] finest. I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free.”

Previously, Monaco debunked the rumor that she had been let go because she’d refused to take the cut in pay or number of episodes that was being implemented by Disney across the board at its media networks. “I took the cut,” Soap Opera Network reported her saying. “That’s all I’ll say in this moment,”

A native of Philadelphia, the onetime Playboy Playmate of the Month began her acting career with a recurring role on Baywatch. Her big break came when she was cast as Livvie Locke on General Hospital spinoff Port Charles in 1999. When not even adding vampires and angels to the soap managed to save it from the daytime graveyard, Monaco was given her pick of new parts. She could’ve joined All My Children as Babe Carey, but being a diehard General Hospital fan, signed with that show instead to play Sam.

In the 20+ years that followed, Monaco, who won Season 1 of Dancing With the Stars was given one frontburner storyline (Sam’s affair with Sonny Corinthos) after another (her love story with Jason Morgan) after another (her turn to the dark side in her rivalry with Elizabeth Webber). The character’s family grew to include mom Alexis Davis, dad Julian Jerome, sisters Kristina and Molly, and brother Lucas. And Monaco amassed such a fan following that a petition was circulated to keep her in Port Charles.

Needless to say, Sam’s passing is going to have a dramatic impact on… sheesh. Half the canvas. Three-quarters? Read about all the characters who will be affected here.