Back in August Steve Burton stunned the soap world by announcing that after 20 years of playing Jason Morgan on General Hospital he was leaving the business to go and lead a quiet life in Tennessee with his wife and kids. At the time the move was surprising, but respected. I mean he had spent twenty years in front of the camera breathing life into a character that in spite of being a hit man, was absolutely adored by fans.
Over the years Burton has forged a close friendship with Jill Farren Phillips, a former GH producer who currently is running the show over at The Young and the Restless. Phillips spent several weeks last fall cleaning house at Y&R, firing long running fan favorite actors with minimal explanation for her actions causing an uproar amongst fans. Now according to the GLOBE Burton is on his way into a cushy, contracted role at Y&R and that all of that firing was actually to provide enough of a budget for the soap to be able to offer Burton a job.
Y&R fans are absolutely furious that they had to sacrifice favorites in order to pay for a defector from GH and the fans that watched Burton on GH are even more incensed. They believe he lied about his reasons for leaving and in doing so had no respect for them and the loyalty that they’ve shown him over the last two decades.
Burton recently spoke out about his job change and explained it this way.
“I told my manager [that] if can keep my family there and I can spend time with them and come back and forth [to Los Angeles for work], I would do that in a second. And without hesitation, CBS Daytime made that deal really quickly. This is crazy, but I am just so grateful to have the best of both worlds.”
Do you believe that it was just a coincidence that allowed Burton the time to relocate his family and then begin a new chapter in soap history, or was it planned from the get-go? What do you think about Steve Burton/The Young and the Restless‘ newest addition? If he and Phillips are so tight, I have to think she laid out a plan of some kind, don’t you? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! Crazy world of Soap Operas!
Image credit to FameFlynet
