General Hospital icon Carolyn Hennesy has lifted the lid on co-star Kelly Monaco’s shock exit last year.
Carolyn confessed that “fans have the right to be upset” that Sam McCall died after a liver donation in October 30. But the talented Emmy winner noted that Monaco’s screen exit may not prevent her from returning, given that other characters have returned from the grave in serial TV.Carolyn has no idea or insight into why Kelly was released, given that she was adored by fans. The actress, who plays powerhouse character Diane Miller, admits her own GH journey has been ”very gratifying”.Carolyn, speaking at the launch of the spring issue of Aspiring Magazine, reflected on the audience’s shock at Kelly’s high-profile departure.
She said: “Well, the fans have a right to be upset because she was on the show, I think, for 21 years. Personally I don’t know why she was let go. I loved working with her. Everybody I know loved working with her.
“One of the great joys was to make Kelly Monica laugh because she was an intense chick. But she and I loved laughing together, and so I miss her. But again, it’s like a family member has gone to the great beyond, and we don’t know why.
“We can speculate. But I don’t know. We miss her. And the fans miss her too, and rightfully so.”
Carolyn feels “nothing is certain” for any actor in Hollywood, hinting at Kelly’s possible return. She elaborated: “Well again, it’s nothing truly that the fans have not dealt with before. It’s a soap opera: here today, gone tomorrow.
“But also with the possibility of rebirth. There’s no reason that who knows, we may see her again. You never know. You never know. So there’s always that kind of anticipatory thing.”
Carolyn noted that US soaps have a long history of shaking up castings, especially with “different bosses coming and going,”
Mystery still surrounds Monaco’s exit, which she admitted “still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“But also with the possibility of rebirth. There’s no reason that who knows, we may see her again. You never know. You never know. So there’s always that kind of anticipatory thing.”
Carolyn noted that US soaps have a long history of shaking up castings, especially with “different bosses coming and going,”
Mystery still surrounds Monaco’s exit, which she admitted “still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Monaco appeared to feel that ABC didn’t value Sam “by slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience. Call it what you will… retaliation at [its] finest.”
Since then, no full details have been explained about the move. Carolyn has now reflected on her pride at representing an empowered female character on America’s longest-running soap opera. The career role has also impacted her own outlook at life.
She said, “Let’s not forget that Diane started out as a fiscally driven character. I mean, every other line out of Diane’s mouth was, ‘I’m going to bill you triple for that. I’m going to bill you.’
“She was all about money. And it was very kind of quick into the life of Diane that I said, she’s so much more than money. She is about every kind of female empowerment you could think of. She’s smart, sassy, she’s dedicated to the law, but she’s also dedicated. So she’s almost everything kind of woman.
“And being able to create her has empowered me. It’s like, oh my goodness. They’re writing for my empowerment. They’re writing for her empowerment. I’m giving it back. I am quadrupling it, hopefully what I see on the page, and it has only made me more ‘really screw you. You don’t want me, I’m going to go over here. You really? Okay, I’ll go over here.’
“It’s very symbiotic, and they feed on one another. And the fact that the fans love that I am not a shrinking violet. I am not a hot house flower. I can walk out into the Arctic with a T-shirt and come back on the other side.
“So it’s like she’s tough and the women love it. The men love it too.
“But really, what I hear from are the women who say, ‘I want to be Diane when I grow up,’ and I say, ‘I want to be Diane when I grow up.’ So it’s very gratifying. It’s very gratifying to be able to bring for the last 20 years, oh my God, what I have been working on my entire life.”
