ARTICLE: ‘General Hospital’s Maurice Benard & Laura Wright Comment on Kelly Monaco’s Upcoming Exit, Wish Actress Success

[Errol]

As Kelly Monaco continues to tape episodes leading toward the untimely death of her character, Sam McCall, some of her “General Hospital” co-stars are cheering for her as she prepares for the unknown, including Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) and Laura Wright (Carly Spencer).

“Every time someone leaves a show I always believe something great is going to come,” said Benard in a post on X (formerly Twitter), in response to a poster asking the cast to speak on behalf of Monaco. “It’s a blessing in disguise. Kelly is really talented. And she will succeed.”

Benard’s comments were echoed in a since-deleted post by Wright who said, “I’m with ya Mo !!! I see an incredible opportunity!! I can’t wait to see Kelly shine.”

At press time, Wright’s post had more than 2,000 views on X (formerly Twitter) before it was deleted, while Benard’s post remains and has garnered nearly 300 likes and nearly 23,000 views.

In late August, Soap Opera Network broke the news that Monaco had been let go from “General Hospital,” with her character slated to be killed off this fall. According to sources, Monaco was said to be “blindsided” by the show’s decision, and while ABC has not formally commented on Monaco’s departure, the network did inform the media that her exit is “storyline dictated.”

“I took the cut. That’s all I’ll say in this moment,” said Monaco in a reply to a post on Instagram addressing an unsubstantiated rumor that she was allegedly the only cast member who opted against taking a cut, either in salary or episode guarantee, which was something allegedly requested by the show’s producers of its talent roster following an alleged Disney mandate to cut costs across its media networks before the end of the company’s fiscal year on September 30.

Monaco has also received public support from some of her former colleagues at “General Hospital,” including Michael Easton (ex-Hamilton Finn) and Kimberly McCullough (ex-Robin Scorpio).

In response to Monaco’s Instagram post honoring the first anniversary of the passing of her friend and former “General Hospital” co-star, the late Billy Miller (ex-Drew Cain), Easton said, “You have a lot of people who love you Kelly and we all have your back.” Meanwhile, McCullough stated, “My heart goes out to you Kelly.”

“Duces [sic] ‘I’ve got your back and you always had mine,’” read the caption on Monaco’s post where she quoted a statement made by Miller in the past. “I will tell our story soon enough…. I love and miss you… and beyond,” Monaco concluded in her post.

For reference, “Deuces” was a nickname the pair used stemming as far back as when Monaco shared a photo of herself on Miller’s back in a July 2017 post on X (formerly Twitter). An X user recently shared a signed copy of the photo written by Miller to Monaco that said, “To the best partner I have ever had – who has my back and I have hers because it takes TWO! ‘Deuces’ — Love, Billy.”

As of Sunday, September 15, more than 14,000 signatures have been compiled from a fan campaign hoping the show would reverse course and rehire Monaco. In fact, last week, a mobile billboard was driven around the show’s Prospect Studios in Hollywood, as well as Disney’s headquarters in Burbank.

That said, I’m still hearing plans remain in place for the show to kill off Monaco’s character.

A final air date for Monaco on “General Hospital” has not been announced.

Note: The post ‘General Hospital’s Maurice Benard & Laura Wright Comment on Kelly Monaco’s Upcoming Exit, Wish Actress Success appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.

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[AMCOLTLLover]

I swear to god I was a fan of hers since „port Charles“.. But it’s no big loss coz her character has been dead weight for years. Yes they could’ve made Lindsey a permanent replacement and spare that character a death.. But I do think with the missing action that this loss will free such big money.

I really hope one day Maurice will retire coz when he leaves and the character of Sonny ends. Oh my this show will be freed moneywise lol 

[Contessa Donatella]

It's interesting. Apparently the cast is considered to be permanently under an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement where they're not allowed to say ... well not anything/nothing, but certain kinds of things about the show without specific permission to do so. When they talk about Frank being very serious about plugging "leaks" this is one of his tools. They're used to it so I suspect it's very effective, although I think it sounds odd to us. At events they tell a lot but just certain things that I guess are safe. But, speaking about this, before the show has officially announced, well, it was unexpected today. But, Mo started it, so he made a path others could feel safe in following, in terms of well wishes. 

Of course, the agenda driven "Everything is Carly's fault" subset of fans, of course they were critical of LWs simple well wishes. Cannot win! At least not on any day that ends with a Y.