GH: Fan Fave Fired. Actress Blindsided

[Taoboi]

Which simply means it better be a big enough fuss.

[slick jones]

Please register in order to view this content

Only a matter of time....   Bye Sam... ten years too late...

[titan1978]

Specifics as to why BM was standing up to Valentini on her behalf is really the only thing not out there. We already know he was let go and them bringing the character back made me think it was something between him and Frank or the show. KeMo was public when Jason was brought back and visibly played against a triangle story. Then both she and Steve made public comments about being different actors now and what worked before was clearly not working anymore. When BM was let go she also publicly complained. And I understand she also walked back some of those comments at private fan events because she pissed off a vocal part of her base.

I do think soap actors should be able to speak up. I also think if the show is going in a direction they do not like, they have a choice to leave or do the work. Especially because what she wanted was to keep sharing scenes with her significant other. That is not a realistic complaint and demand.

The problem is Frank is petty. She has phoned it in in various ways for years. He chose to punish her like he punished others. She deserves some grace through personal traumas. But he clearly stuck her in purgatory until the budget crisis the show and ABC was facing met up with plans they were making for the immediate future of the show and cut a major contract.

Edited October 2, 2024 by titan1978

[carolineg]

You said it well.

Frank being petty and making realistic budget cuts isn't a fireable offense.  I don't have a high opinion of him and it does seem spiteful, but it's not crazy out of line.

Kelly phoning performances in, refusing storylines, and being difficult for years now is something that can get you fired.  Not to mention Sam is played out and has been for at least a decade.  So while I do give her grace and sympathy due to personal tragedies the decision to cut Sam makes sense.

 

[Liberty City]

I agree; I am sure grace was given, even though it isn't always something that is going to be given, as this is a fast-moving business.

[carolineg]

Especially when, by her own admission, she was being difficult and disagreed with her storylines.  You can't have it all.  It's going to catch up with you.  And it did with Kelly finally.  To me it appears she thought she was untouchable at GH.  It really didn't help she alienated her JaSam fanbase as well which was quite vocal and fairly large.

[Khan]

We can blame Brian Frons for that one, lol!

[carolineg]

Her and Courtney.  It's lucky for her that Guza liked Kemo/Sam more than Alicia Willis.

[Liberty City]

NGL, I think we're all lucky for that one.

[carolineg]

True facts.  I HATED Courtney and am going to regret typing this, but I think Courtney actually had more long term potential than Sam ever did.  Especially if they used her/AJ/Jason correctly.  Pairing her with Jax and then Nik was a mistake.  The Carly/Jason/Sonny/Courtney quad could have been a lot more exciting if AJ was involved in the mess.  That's probably more a sign of AJ's importance than Courtney's though.

[Liberty City]

And we all know AJ was not important to the Phelps/Guza regime at all, which is unfortunate.

[titan1978]

The thing I keep coming back to is as awful as being fired from a job is, especially after this much time, the central issues that started everything were that she wanted to only be paired with her offscreen partner.

It has never been leaked that Burton and KeMo had a contentious working relationship. It’s not like she was trying to protect herself from a nasty costar. She just wanted to work with her boyfriend. Which is ridiculous.

Many things can be true at one time. This can suck and also not be surprising as far as her performances. And Frank can be a shitty boss and still have a show to produce and talent he can depend on. And Kelly can say whatever she wants about all of it, and deserved better bts treatment. But I think the end result is the same-Sam is off the show because of multiple factors.

The true crossover supervillain of ABC daytime.

[Antoyne]

I still think if Frank hated KM so much he should’ve just permanently recast with Hartley. She plays the role with so much energy, it makes the character feel viable again to me. And truthfully when they’ve used KM this year since PM took over, she’s seemed more alive to me. I can’t understand the thinking of not playing Lulu/Dante/Sam.

Edited October 3, 2024 by Antoyne

[Taoboi]

Same. She really did. Even if it was too little, too late.

 

But like you, I don't understand why they didn't play Lulu/Dante/Sam. PM did a good job on making couples no one cared about a lot more important than they were (Dante/Sam, TJ/Molly, Drew/Nina) so it would and could write itself. Especially given what was going on when Lulu went into her coma with her and Dante. 

 

 

[David_Vickers]

I co-sign wholeheartedly!