Why Did Steve Burton Leave “General Hospital”? All About His Initial Exit and Upcoming Return

After leaving 'General Hospital' in November 2021, Burton is slated to make his anticipated return as Jason Morgan

Get excited General Hospital fans, because Steve Burton is reprising his role as Jason Morgan.

A day after the soap star announced his exit from Days of Our Lives, the actor revealed he would be returning to General Hospital during ABC's primetime special General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars & Storytelling.

In the final moments of the special, Laura Wright (Carly) and Kelly Monaco (Sam) helped announce his return in a pre-recorded clip.

“You know what they say: When one door closes,” Wright said, with Monaco adding, “Another door opens.” They then turned their attention to the door in between them as Burton stepped out and told the camera, "Stay tuned — big things are coming to Port Charles."

Burton first made his General Hospital debut in 1991. His character was first known as Jason Quartermaine, who sustained brain damage in a car crash which wiped his memory and led him to reinvent himself as Jason Morgan.

He remained on the series for the next 11 years, even winning a 1998 Daytime Emmy for outstanding supporting actor during his tenure. Though he exited the series in 2012, he returned in 2017 and remained a main character until November 2021.

As Burton makes his anticipated return to the show, here are all the details of why he left the series in 2021.

Related: Happy 60th Anniversary, 'General Hospital' ! PEOPLE Is Celebrating with a New Special Edition

Why did Steve Burton leave General Hospital?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney issued a mandate that required vaccinations for the casts of all of its U.S. productions. General Hospital's vaccine mandate for Zone A, which includes the actors and all crew who are present on set when the actors aren't wearing masks, went into effect on Nov. 1, 2021.

Following the vaccine mandate, several cast members and crew who did not comply were let go from the show, including Burton and Ingo Rademacher (Jasper "Jax" Jacks), who later sued ABC over the mandate calling it "blatantly unlawful." In June 2023, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch sided with ABC in Rademacher’s suit, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Most Disney shows dropped the vaccine mandate a year later in November 2022, as reported by Deadline.

What has Steve Burton said about his exit from General Hospital?

Burton shared the news of his exit in a video on his Instagram page later in November 2021. "I know there's been a lot of rumors and speculations about me and General Hospital. I wanted you to hear it from me personally," he said in the clip. "Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied, which, you know, hurts."

Burton continued, "But this is also about personal freedom to me. I don't think anyone should lose their livelihood over this. But with that being said, you know me, I'll always be grateful for my time at General Hospital, I love it there."

In July 2022, Burton expanded on his exit to Deadline during an interview about his upcoming role as Harris Michaels on Peacock’s Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem.

“Look, the circumstance [of his GH departure] was tough and you know, that’s just the way it is,” Burton told the publication. “I’ll always be grateful for my time there. It was my family for so long. I grew up there and the fans have always been awesome to me. But again, some doors shut and other doors open and here we are in Beyond Salem. Wow.”

He also discussed what it was like having his “personal choices about vaccines” shared with the public when his exit was announced. “I’m a public figure and that’s just how life is,” he said. “It was my belief and I stuck to it and I knew it was gonna be that way. I knew some people would agree with it and some people wouldn’t agree with it. It’s a personal choice and that’s what I had to do.”

“GH was a huge part of my life and I’m so grateful for the opportunity there and the people there,” he continued. “I just don’t have anything bad to say. It was a handshake — ‘Hey, it doesn’t work for you. It doesn’t work for me.’ Okay, great. Awesome. That was it. And that’s okay. In life it’s perspective, right? It’s how you choose to handle it. We all have a choice in how to handle things. You could get angry and pissed off and bad-mouth people and take the low road and that’s not gonna get anyone anywhere, ever. I truly am grateful and I work from that.”

How did General Hospital write off Steve Burton’s character Jason?

Shortly after Burton confirmed his exit from General Hospital, his character was written off the show. During an episode that aired in November 2021, a tunnel collapsed on Jason as he was trying to save his brother Drew (Cameron Mathison).

Though Drew survived, Jason’s body was never recovered. He was later pronounced dead to his loved ones, including his longtime friend-turned-love Carly. At the time, Variety reported that the show would not recast Burton’s role, seemingly leaving the door open for his potential return down the road.

When did Steve Burton announce his return to General Hospital?

During ABC's primetime special General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars & Storytelling, which featured many past stars as they reflected on the show’s legacy, Burton announced his anticipated return as Jason.

In the final moments of the special, Laura Wright (Carly) and Kelly Monaco (Sam) helped announce his return in a pre-recorded clip that showed him walking through a door.

During his podcast Daily Drama with costar Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) in January 2024, Burton spoke more about his surprise return, including how the show kept his segment in the anniversary special a secret.

“We tried to keep it super low profile in the building,” Burton said. “Here’s the thing. Once you start telling makeup, hair, wardrobe, it’s hard. It’s supposed to be hush-hush but I’m going back in the building…you can’t just drop me in the dressing room and then take me up to stage and shoot something without people noticing.”

“It was incredible going back,” he added. “Just the welcome back from everybody on the lot, starting with the people at the gate. It was amazing.”

When is Steve Burton reprising his role as Jason on General Hospital?

In a video posted to the Daily Drama's YouTube channel, the veteran soap actor shared a glimpse at his return to the ABC program's set — and revealed that his official return date is March 4.

At the beginning of March, PEOPLE shared the exclusive first look at Burton’s return. In the image, Burton, who plays Jason Morgan, is clad entirely in black and stands behind a dumpster, one hand covered in blood.

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