Ethan Lovett, son of Luke Spencer and Holly Sutton, has appeared on the iconic soap opera since 2009.Show Caption
Ethan Lovett is saying goodbye to Port Charles once again.The longtime "General Hospital" character, currently played by Christian Howard, departed the iconic soap opera on Tuesday, Aug. 4, after returning to the series earlier this year.Lovett, son of Luke Spencer and Holly Sutton, had a less-than-ideal sendoff, getting into a tense confrontation with Hudson (Troy Lennon Appel) during a stay in Norway. The two men came to blows with a fistfight in Lovett's hotel room, after which Lovett revealed to Hudson that Delilah (Lily Cardone) and her baby had died.Hudson later threatened to hurt Lovett's family if he found out Lovett was lying about the baby's status. Toward the end of the episode, Lovett is seen making an urgent phone call about the baby to Ava (Maura West), which Hudson could overhear through a Bluetooth headset.USA TODAY has reached out to Howard's representatives for comment.Lovett was first introduced to the series in 2009 and originally played by Nathan Dean (formerly known as Nathan Parsons). Dean portrayed the character through 2012 and returned to the soap opera for guest appearances in 2013, 2015 and 2020.James Ryan then took over the role for a trio of episodes in 2023.Lovett was brought back to the show again in April, with Dean reprising his role for several episodes. Dean's last appearance was July 17, followed by Howard's debut on July 27."Initially, [the show] wanted [me for] three years," Dean told TV Insider in July of his return. "I said, 'I can't do three years. There's a lot going on in my personal life. I need to be home with my wife and all this stuff, so can't do three years, can't do two years.' So, we agreed to do these next four months, see how it goes, and they have a pretty interesting little story lined up."'General Hospital' fans criticize Ethan Lovett departure, recastingFollowing Lovett's abrupt exit, several "General Hospital" fans took to social media to share their disappointment with the storyline."That made no sense ['General Hospital']," @losthalo74 wrote on Threads. "If he was leaving.. why recast him for, like, two episodes? Crazy.""What was the point of bringing him back? What are the writers doing?" @carjamez01 commented.Some viewers also took issue with Dean's sudden replacement as Lovett before the character's departure."Sorry for [Howard], but he was just not a good fit for his character," @deenich789 wrote. "There is only one Ethan!""The old Ethan or no Ethan," @kinsay15 commented."I'm confused as to why they didn't wrap things with the same actor and go out on a high note instead of a very quick recast …" @lisa.branigan wrote.
