General Hospital Fans Rally to Save Kelly Monaco

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When the news broke on Aug. 26 that Kelly Monaco was out at General Hospital, fans were shocked. But they quickly began mobilizing in an effort to save the daytime vet who has been playing Sam McCall on the soap for over two decades.

Some fans established petitions online, like this one at change.org asking everyone to rally and let ABC and GH know that they want to keep Monaco and Sam on the canvas. Hashtags like “#SaveKelly” and “SaveSam” are flooding social media. And lists of phone numbers, addresses, and Twitter handles are being shared around in the hopes of making a difference.

Back in 2011, a vocal fan protest erupted when Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) was let go from GH and it was successful at reversing the soap’s decision. Then, in 2018, fans were upset when Genie Francis (Laura) was dropped to recurring status with the soap, launching online petitions to bring the daytime legend back on contract.

Monaco made her daytime debut playing Livvie on the GH spinoff Port Charles, earning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Following that soap’s cancellation, the actress joined the cast of GH in the newly-created role of Sam McCall in October 2003, receiving another Daytime Emmy nomination in 2006, this time in the Lead Actress category.

With Monaco’s 21-year run on GH reportedly coming to an end this fall, there is still some time for fans to try and convince The Powers That Be to change their minds about this decision. But whether or not their efforts will have any effect remains to be seen.

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