General Hospital spoilers reveal that it was a happy episode today with Scout Cain’s first birthday celebration, but on Twitter, a war of words broke out between Kelly Monaco and some soaps fans who accused her co-star Billy Miller of groping her. Considering the #MeToo and #TimesUp trends, this begs the question of whether the accusations and video of the incident might affect Miller’s career. You can see the video below of the moment that prompted the backlash to judge for yourself, but clearly, Kelly Monaco doesn’t think he did anything wrong.
Incident at “Killy Live” event In New York
The incident that sparked the social media war took place at the sold-out “Killy Live” event at the Gerald Lynch Theater in New York last weekend. The fan event was set up by Billy Miller and Kelly Monaco, and the proceeds benefited NextGenFace , a charity that helps children with craniofacial conditions get treatment and reconstructive surgery. By all accounts, it’s a great organization, and Miller and Monaco donated all of the proceeds from the event to the organization and did not receive an appearance fee.
Advertising for the event at “Killy Live” promised that it would be “an intimate, once-in-a-lifetime event with a unique live show and personal meet and greets.” There was a 10 a.m. event and a 4 p.m event, and both sold out. Initial fan response from those who attended, based on social media comments, was overwhelmingly positive. However, once videos of the event made the rounds, some people began trolling Billy Miller and accusing him of sexually harassing and assaulting his co-star on stage.
Agreed Mara! ? In fact, #KillyLive was a terrific way to spend a Saturday!! You helped make it a wonderful experience and enjoyable for all! ???? Couldn’t be a prouder fan of @kellymonaco1 & #BillyMiller Well done by all!! ?? #Killy pic.twitter.com/NA3aPFRaOq
— Maureen (@SoCalGibbFan) February 28, 2018
Kelly And Billy Joked Onstage
One person on social media tagged ABC Publicity and the soap in their tweet and asked how they felt about the show’s “representatives behaving in this manner at a fan event” and shared a photo of Billy with his hands on Kelly’s chest and her acting mock-shocked. They asked whether the network would “address this behavior.” In January, the same person called fans of the soap couple “utter trash” and said their fans “are the worst” and, in early January, called Billy Miller fat and told people to “deal with it.”
In addition to the red carpet photo in question, there was something that happened during the event that further incited people that seem to have a vendetta against Billy and Kelly. If you look at the video below, you can see what triggered other groping allegations. Billy and Killy sat down on the floor at the event so that they could do a selfie with the crowd behind them, with their backs to the stage. When Kelly went to stand up, the bodice of her top pulled down, and Billy shielded her with his hands so she wouldn’t be exposed.
Rather than being offended at the gesture, Kelly showed appreciation and said that “during love scenes, he has to protect me.” She implied that he shields her from the cameras so that too much of her skin doesn’t show on camera. Billy shielded her while she adjusted her top on stage, and then, to further demonstrate, Kelly grabbed Billy’s hands and placed them on either side of her breasts. Billy laughed and said, “You put my hands there.”
Kelly moved his hands up and down so that her breasts jiggled, and he laughed and said that “it’s a tough job.”
The crowd laughed, Kelly laughed, and Billy added, “I went to college for this.”
At no point did Kelly seem distraught or did the touching seem unwelcome. In fact, Kelly grabbed Billy’s hands and held them to her body. These are two actors who have scripted love scenes together for General Hospital and seem very comfortable with one another. By their own admission, they are close friends but not romantically involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M68QLxXWKk
Kelly Claps Back At Twitter Trolls
While many soap fans are passionate, some General Hospital fan factions can be vicious — particularly when it comes to their preferred on-screen couples. While traveling to the “Killy Live” event, Billy and Kelly stopped for an appearance at Watch What Happens Live . You can see a clip above when host Andy Cohen asked if soap fans are “vocal on Twitter,” and Kelly said an emphatic “yes” while Billy Miller adopted a shocked face and asked “Vocal?” then added “scary sometimes” and made a stabbing gesture.
Little did Billy Miller know that “fans” would get much scarier following their appearance for charity. Today, Kelly Monaco clapped back at haters on Twitter defending her co-star who himself doesn’t tweet or do social media. In addition to defending Billy, Kelly hit back at a fan that called the two actors “beyond arrogant” and said “their fakeness just radiates off them” and said she was “being really mean” and reminded them all the proceeds from the event went to charity.
Despite Kelly defending Billy, the harsh reality in this sensitive #MeToo climate is that even the rumor of improper behavior can cost a man his career. With some trolls tagging ABC and General Hospital in their accusing tweets, it begs the question of whether this incident could affect Billy Miller’s career. Obviously, Kelly Monaco is fighting hard to ensure it doesn’t. Since Kelly would be the alleged victim, isn’t it up to her to decide if she was harassed or groped and not random people on Twitter taking video clips and photos out of context?
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