How ‘General Hospital’ Wrote Out Steve Burton’s Jason Morgan
The Doctor Is In
For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our General Hospital Newsletter:
Just a week after Steve Burton confirmed that he would be exiting General Hospital over its COVID vaccine mandate, the ABC soap has written out his character, Jason Morgan.
As it turned out, Jason did die when a tunnel collapsed as he was trying to save his long-lost brother, Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison). But while Jason’s body wasn’t found — there were no signs of life at the site of the collapse – he’s been declared dead.
“I know there’s been a lot of rumors and speculation about me and General Hospital, and I wanted you to hear it from me personally. Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate,” Burton said in a video he shared on Instagram on November 23. “I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied, which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me. I don’t think anybody should lose their livelihood over this.”
He also made it clear that he’s not closing the door on perhaps playing Jason Morgan again in the future and returning to General Hospital “maybe one day, if these mandates are lifted.” At the time, he hadn’t known when his final episode would be airing (or if it already had).
Burton started playing Jason Morgan in 1991, and his character has been presumed dead before. Whether Jason truly is dead this time or if Burton will return in the future like he is open to or General Hospital might recast the role has yet to be seen.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services