Antonio Sabato Jr. speaks out about General Hospital recasting John "Jagger" Cates

Antonio Sabato Jr. has addressed General Hospital's decision to recast the role of Jagger Cates and dismissed claims that he turned down the chance to return to the role he created three decades ago.

General Hospital viewers got a big surprise on the February 2 episode when it was revealed that the handsome patron that Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) ran into outside Kelly's was none other than John "Jagger" Cates, older brother of Michael "Stone" Cates (Michael Sutton) and close friend of Robin Scorpio-Drake (Kimberly McCullough). Originally, Antonio Sabato Jr. played John "Jagger" Cates from 1992 until exiting GH in 1994. He returned briefly in 1995 for Jagger's beloved brother's funeral, and he popped up in 2008 on ABC's GH spinoff Night Shift, but he hasn't been seen since. That was, until Adam J. Harrington appeared on our television screens as the newly minted John "Jagger" Cates.

Sabato was quick to take to Instagram to weigh in on the move to recast the role. In a since deleted video, Sabato addressed his fans and shared his theory on why he wasn't asked to reprise the role that he originated. "I'm being bombarded with a lot of questions about this General Hospital thing," the actor began. "You need to know the truth from me, and you need to know the only truth about what's going on," Sabato explained. He continued, "At the beginning of my career, I started on a character that I truly, truly adore, that I created with Wendy Riche, the executive producer, and an amazing team of writers at General Hospital back in 1992."

"I've been asked by the fans, by millions all over the world, not just in America and in North America, but all over the world, about coming back to General Hospital for 30 years," Sabato shared. He assured his fans that he's doing very well career-wise, and he was not "begging" to return to GH. "This is not about that. I have many careers. I'm still acting very well. I have a movie coming out. I have a lot of things coming out that I'm very proud of," he said. "I've never been asked to come back on General Hospital for 30 years. The producers at General Hospital, ABC, and Disney, they know where to find me. They know where I am. The fans always ask me every single day, 'Are you going back to General Hospital?"' Sabato revealed.

Next, Sabato tackled the decision to bring John "Jagger" Cates back and hire Harrington. "So, now, they [GH] started a new character by the name of John. They don't even call him 'Jagger.' They call him 'John' because they know that the character's only been played by me 'cause it's part of who I am. It's my life. It's a character that is really a big part of my soul, that I dedicated my life, and that's why it turned out to be great. I gave everything I have to that character, and I would still do," the actor explained.

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"So, the truth and the fact of the matter is, people say, 'Well, you ruined your career because you voted for this, or political, or this and that.' I shouldn't be hired on my political views. I should be hired on my merit, on my acting abilities," Sabato said. He went on to say, "So, this is on them hiring a new person, which is fine. They could do whatever they want. But for all the fans around the world to speculate, or to say, 'I ruined my career and all this stuff,' no, that's not it. So, now you know the truth. I'm gonna leave this out there for you to see," the actor concluded.

Should the writers have brought Antonio Sabato Jr. back, or are you happy with the decision to recast the role with Adam Harrington? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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