“Those whom choose to bully behind their power, will suffer their own consequences,” said former “General Hospital” star Kelly Monaco (ex-Sam McCall) on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this evening in response to a poster claiming the actress was let go from the daytime drama series due to “her actions.”
“[Kelly Monaco was] fired for her actions. There was no vendetta. She did this herself. She phoned in her performances for YEARS. She thought she had more power than she did,” the X poster commented in response to another poster who alleged that the show’s executive producer, Frank Valentini, had a “personal vendetta against Kelly [which] created a hostile workplace.”
Standing up for herself, Monaco stated, “I do have more power than a ‘job’ it’s my voice, my experience, my truth. You can beat someone down, until they finally find the power within themselves to recover with grace and dignity. Those whom choose to bully behind their power, will suffer their own consequences.”
Monaco’s comments on X mark the first time since at least October 24 that the 21-year “General Hospital” veteran has spoken up since being let go from the series, with her final airdate being Friday, November 1.
In an X post at the time, Monaco said, “It was not scripted,” in response to a #IStandWithKelly fan who inquired about a scene that saw Monaco’s character hold up the “I love you” sign with her fingers as she was being wheeled toward the operating room for surgery – Sam was donating her liver to help save Lulu (now played by Alexa Havins Bruening). Sadly, Sam would later die shortly after beginning her recovery from said surgery, with the storyline now leaning toward the character being murdered by an unknown assailant as the medication prescribed to treat her is revealed to have been tampered with.
A video of Monaco giving a goodbye speech to the cast and crew of the daytime drama series went viral earlier this month. The video, taped on Friday, September 27, Monaco’s last tape date, sees the actress saying, “I’ve been on this lot for 25 years, and you have all been my family – not only my second family but my first family – and I just thank each and every one of you for all these memories and this experience that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life.” She went on to thank casting director Mark Teschner for casting her not only on “General Hospital” but also as Livvie Locke on “Port Charles.”
Outside of “General Hospital” and “Port Charles,” Monaco is best known for competing during the inaugural season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” where she won the coveted Mirror Ball trophy back in 2005. She returned to the series in 2012 during the show’s 15th season, dubbed the “All Stars” season, this time coming in third place with professional dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy, who later appeared on “General Hospital” as a boxer.
Monaco again returned to “Dancing with the Stars” in 2017 for the show’s 25th season, performing the rumba alongside Terrell Owens as his professional dance partner Cheryl Burke.
Monaco has been nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards throughout her career, first in 2003 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role on “Port Charles,” and again in 2006 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on “General Hospital.”