Kelly Monaco AXED from General Hospital as actress 'blindsided' by decision

Kelly Monaco will not be returning to General Hospital .

The actress plays Sam McCall on the soap opera , a role she held since 2003. However, the writers have plans to go a different direction with the show, spurring this major casting shakeup. Sam is set to get terminated from the storyline , meaning Kelly will be out of a General Hospital job.

An insider told Soap Opera Network that Kelly was "blindsided" by the decision from the network. Sam is set to make her final appearance in Port Charles this fall, the source noted. As for Kelly's future in soaps, that's currently unknown, but this wasn't her first stint in the General Hospital universe, so there's no certainty that she'll be gone for good even if Sam is dead.

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After all, she initially played Livvie Locke on Port Charles, the spin-off of General Hospital show, before making her more grand debut on the main show as Sam. Those daytime television roles earned her Emmys, making her an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series twice.

Fans were livid over the choice. One wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "I don't even care for Sam as a character frfr but KILLING HER OFF?!? Getting rid of Kelly Monaco?! And keeping the homophobe and all these nonsense characters....They have lost their f---ing minds completely."

"This b---- a-s show absolutely has not wrote my girl right for the past five years it’s been nothing but straight disrespect, but us real Sam/Kelly fans know she deserves better and she is a leading woman on any show because she’s that damn good," another added. A third chimed in: "The amount of disrespect Kelly Monaco and many of 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!"

Fans also speculated on the reason for the sudden change. No official word yet, but fans aren't convinced that the choice was just for plot purposes. In fact, one claimed she previously agreed to a pay cut. One said on Reddit: "They seemed to have asked Kelly to take a pay cut she agreed to that but then was asked to take a guarantee cut which she declined, then that lead to her being let go and it has been confirmed that they are writing Sam off (killing her off)."