The internet has been spinning wild lies about Rick Hearst, and he is done staying quiet about it. For weeks, false rumors claimed that Ric Lansing was getting killed off and that Hearst was walking away from General Hospital for good. Nobody asked the man, apparently. So Hearst did what any self-respecting soap veteran would do. He took matters into his own hands and went straight to Instagram to blow the whole thing up.
Hearst Calls Out the Fake News Publicly
Hearst posted a screenshot of a false Google search result claiming he had revealed his own exit. Over the image, he stamped bold red letters that screamed “I hate the internet.” His comment on it left absolutely nothing to the imagination. He called the rumors “complete shyte” and did not soften it one bit. He gave it to us, the way it was. No PR spin. No careful wording. Just a man telling the truth at full volume.
The post EXPLODED. Fans poured into the comments within minutes. One viewer wrote they had been genuinely upset by the rumors and felt so relieved reading his post. Another fan declared that his return brought them back to watching the show entirely and that they were fully on the LiRic train. A third called out the people behind the false narrative directly, pointing out that some fans apparently have nothing better to do.
General Hospital News: Daytime Royalty Backs Him Up
Hearst was not alone in this. Fellow soap veterans immediately recognized the situation because they had lived it themselves. Tamara Braun, currently playing Sienna Bacall on The Young and the Restless, chimed in with her own story. She revealed the internet had declared her dead just last month. Lesli Kay of The Bold and the Beautiful agreed without hesitation, adding that people post whatever they feel like without consequence. And yet, none of them seemed surprised.
For actors who have spent decades in daytime television, this kind of thing has become almost routine. Fake exit stories, fabricated death reports and invented behind-the-scenes drama circulate constantly. Fans consume it because it feels real, and the algorithm rewards the outrage. But when the actual stars have to spend their own time correcting lies? That is where it crosses a line. Hearst, Braun and Kay all know the drill, and they are clearly tired of it.
What Lies Ahead for Ric in Port Charles
Now that Hearst has personally cleared the air, the real question is where Ric Lansing goes from here. Spoilers hint that Sidwell’s revenge obsession against Sonny could pull Ric directly into the crossfire. As someone now deeply embedded in Sonny’s inner circle, Ric makes a dangerously easy target. Sonny has already arranged quiet protection for him, which feels less like reassurance and more like a countdown at this point.
On a softer note, there is also the matter of Ric and Elizabeth. He bought her a painting. She gave him a kiss. For a relationship that has been through so much, those two small moments feels quite elemental. General Hospital fans know better than to call anything between these two straightforward, but the signs are pointing somewhere warm. Whether the show leans into the romance or pulls the rug out with a mob war twist, Ric’s story is clearly far from finished.
Ric Lansing is not leaving Port Charles, and Rick Hearst made absolutely sure the world knew it. The rumors were false, the exit story was fabricated, and General Hospital‘s most compelling half-brother is very much still in the building. Whether Ric survives whatever Sidwell has planned is the real question fans should be asking. Keep following Soap Opera Daily for every twist, cast update, and Port Charles bombshell still headed your way.