‘General Hospital’ Veteran Exits After More Than Two Decades And Fans Are Furious

General Hospital fans are having a tough time taking in some big news for the show after it was announced that longtime cast member Kelly Monaco is officially leaving after 21 years.

The sad news was confirmed by Variety , with Monaco's final appearance in the soap opera coming this fall. Monaco officially joined General Hospital in 2003 as Sam McCall, after debuting on the spinoff series Port Charles as the character Livvie Locke.

Monaco's character McCall was introduced as a con artist who is the biological daughter of William deVry 's mob boss Julian Jerome and Nancy Lee Grahn 's Alexis Davis.

General Hospital fans are reeling from the surprising announcement of Monaco's departure, with many commenting on the rumor that they're going to kill off the character, as reported by Soap Opera Network . The publication also claimed that Monaco was "blindsided" by the news.

"Kelly Monaco did NOTHING to deserve this and that's all I'm gonna say about it," read one strong reaction, as another responded, "I am beyond pissed. I have been a Kelly fan since Port Charles. This is just awful."

Some fans are even considering no longer watching the show, such as those who said, "Genuinely might be done this time, Sam is my ride or die," "I'm not even a Sam/Kelly fan and I'm pissed," and "I’m in disbelief."

Another fan questioned, "Kelly Monaco has been disrespected by Frank, Varni, & their writers for YEARS. Constantly sidelined & why?"

"They're not even recasting. They are just tossing the character. Wow," someone else reacted , as a different General Hospital fan felt similarly, saying , "Over 20 years down the drain."

While Monaco is officially departing the series, there are a few major stars who are coming back to the show, including Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer and Rick Hearst as Ric Lansing.

Monaco hasn't publicly responded to the news yet.

Next: A Veteran General Hospital Star Returns to Port Charles