Lexi Ainsworth OUT at 'General Hospital'

After weeks of rumors, General Hospital actress Lexi Ainsworth (Kristina) confirmed via Twitter that she is leaving the ABC soap.

Her full statement: “Sorry it seems that I wasn’t responding. I was asked by Jill [Farren Phelps] and again by Mitch [Messinger] the publicist not to say anything but since it appears to be officially out there I will confirm I shot my last episode at GH yesterday. It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I wouldn’t trade one second of it even the not so great parts for all that I’ve learned to prepare me for the next phase of my career. I want to THANK each one of you from the bottom of my heart! Soap fans are the best and I’m so glad to have been part of its legacy…. I love you all and I am still rooting for GH to beat the odds because you all deserve to see the talents of all those amazing people for years to come!”

Ainworth joined the cast in 2009 as Kristina Corinthos-Davis, the daughter of attorney Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) and mobster Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). The character was rapidly aged to 16 years old. Ainsworth played a key role in many storylines, including a teen abuse storyline for which she earned critical praise. She earned a Daytime Emmy nomination earlier this year for Outstanding Younger Actress for her work in 2010.

Prior to working at GH, the actress appeared on Gilmore Girls, iCarly and the film Wild Child. The actress also revealed she will be working on a film starring Eric Roberts and Vivica A. Fox.

TVSource wishes Lexi the best in her future endeavors. We will keep you updated as more information, including whether or not the role will be recast, is available.

My POV: This sucks for Lexie and her fans. Rumors began last week that she may have been let go after a tweet she wrote (and later deleted). You know what you have to do if you want to protest her firing, call the comment line and write in. It will be interesting to see if GH does choose to recast the character and go with a full fledged Ethan/Kristina/Johnny triangle.