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‘General Hospital’s’ Controversial Luke and Laura Rape Episode: Writer Sheri Anderson Reveals Behind the Scenes Decisions and Admits ‘I Was Wrong’ to Defend It (Exclusive)

By Michael Fairman

Published

2 months ago

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Photo: ABC

It’s one of the most controversial storylines in soap opera history, when Luke (the late Anthony Geary) raped Laura (Genie Francis) back in an episode that aired in 1979. In the story, one fateful night while believing his latest assignment for the mob would get him killed, Luke drank heavily, and confessed his love to Laura. She had been working at the disco at the time and tried to comfort him.

Luke said, “I’m not going to die without holding you in my arms just one time. Dance with me.” As Herb Alpert’s “Rise,” played in the background, Laura tried to leave as she was getting fearful of Luke. The camera panned away as Luke forced himself on her and Laura screamed, “No!” The aftermath also became a huge problem for the series years later. GH tried to pass it off as a seduction, while viewer outcry, and as the world evolved over the decades called it then and now what it was, “rape.”

The script writer for that episode was prolific soap opera writer and three-time Emmy winner, Sheri Anderson. The popular scribe is best-known for her work on Days of Our Lives and also her tenure as its co-head writer, but she also spent a few years at General Hospital smack dab in the late 70s and early 80s, under then legendary executive producer, Gloria Monty.

Photo: JPI

During her visit last week to the Michael Fairman Channel, where Anderson opened up about a specific moments throughout her storied writing career, as well as the state of the soaps now in our culture, she recalled the events that transpired before and after that led to her scripting the infamous rape episode on GH.

ABC NETWORK EXEC DECIDES LUKE SHOULD RAPE LAURA

Sheri began, “What happened was Pat Falken Smith (then head writer, GH) came in from a meeting and she was stoned-faced, and we said, ‘What’s going on?’ She said Jackie Smith, who was head of the network, wants Luke to rape Laura and we were like, ‘What? We can’t do that!” She said that’s what we were going to so, because we were exploring ‘date rape’ at the time.”

“So, on General Hospital, or any show that I’ve been involved with, we would get as much research as we could on the subject, especially when I was writing,” explained Anderson. “I would always send the script to a therapist and say, ‘is this accurate? Is this emotionally correct?'”

Anderson shared from the writers viewpoint what the story was about at that time: “Luke was from the wrong side of the tracks. He was trying to prove himself to the mob and they said to prove it, you have to go kill a senator Mitch Williams. Luke couldn’t go through with it, which meant he was a dead man. He went back to the Campus Disco which he owned and Laura was there. She was waiting for her husband (Scotty Baldwin). So, when Laura was trying to comfort Luke, things started to get out of control.”

THE COINED “SEDUCTION”

“The script which I wrote was 110 pages, which was typical at the time. Gloria Monty, who was a brilliant executive producer and director who changed daytime, was the director of that episode,” explained Anderson on the writing for the soap back in the late 70s. “They probably cut 30 pages of material, because she was so intent on the rape and making it as brutal as she could. So, we were just going forward and thinking, ‘Oh, my God! That was really awful.'”

Over decades, the moment was called as aforementioned, “a seduction,” a “date rape,” and then as GH viewers recalled, it was in 1998 that Luke admitted to his son Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) that he actually raped his mother, Laura.

Photo: ABC

ANDERSON COULD NO LONGER DEFEND THE STORY POINT

It is not lost on Anderson, how GH at the time, tried to pass off the on-screen incident, “In retrospect, and I believe Michelle Val Jean (creator, head-writer, executive producer of Beyond the Gates) once said that it upset her, that we would say it was really a ‘seduction’ and all of those things, because it was not. It was rape, and (back then) I would try to, in a sense, defend it, and frankly, I was wrong,” revealed Sheri.

“I wrote the rape episode and I actually wrote the episode after it and we had Emily McLaughlin who played nurse Jessie Brewer who came to me later and said, ‘thank you.’ Because she said, ‘I wrote the aftermath of it so poignantly for her and Genie,’ recalled Sheri. “Then, we had Irene Kassorla, the real-life therapist come in, and on the show do group therapy sessions. So, it was really fascinating for me  I thought that we were doing it extremely well, and I still think we did it extremely well. But, yes, it was rape, and it was wrong.”

Photo: ABC

GLORIA MONTY SWORE SHE WOULD NEVER MARRY LUKE AND LAURA

In an ironic twist, when Pat Falken Smith and Sheri left General Hospital to return to Days of Our Lives, suddenly Luke and Laura were getting married, after Gloria Monty swore she would never let them tie the knot. As soap fans know, the wedding remains the most-watched episode in soap opera in history with over 30 million people tuning-in on November 16 and 17 of 1981.

“People talk about that story thinking Luke raped Laura, and then they got married. No! Luke raped Laura, but it destroyed their lives with the secrets that they carried. Laura would not tell anybody that Luke was the one who raped her, and their lives were altered in so many ways. It took a long time to bring them back as a couple because they had such chemistry personally, so it was just the obvious way to go,” explained Anderson of the writers mindset at the time. “Gloria Monty said to us, ‘We’ll never marry them.’ Then, when as a writing team we left and went to Days of Our Lives, she married them two months later.”

You can catch our full informative chat with Sheri Anderson below.

So, what did you think about what really went on behind the scenes at General Hospital when the decision came down to have Luke rape Laura in the controversial scenes? Did you appreciate the insight provided by Sheri? Is it still one of the more troubling plot points in the storied history of Luke and Laura to you? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

 

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Laura and Luke should have never been a love story, ever. Rape is not love. And I’m glad Sheri is no longer apologising for it, either. Good on her and good on Genie Francis, as well.

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If Genue Francis was under age 18 at the time, her father should have spoken up and not allowed that storyline to happen, but I don’t know how contracts worked back then. Why would ABC even do that with an underage actress?They would never allow that storyline today , and I personally think it was a bad decision and I agree with gloria monty , they should have never married them.

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Genie has spoken up in recent years about how it all came to be. Actually, Gloria Monty took Genie’s dad, veteran character actor Ivor Francis, out to dinner to discuss her plans for Genie and Tony. She had to. Genie was only 17 (Tony was in his early 30s.). Gloria had been charged with saving GH (Which had been flailing in the ratings) and ABC gave her 13 weeks to do it. I was never a fan of this pairing and the love story made me sick. Offstage Tony tried to be as protective of Genie as he could be in light of the situation, but it was hard on her. She had to boast the party line…how it was a seduction; and they passed that off for years! Tony received 8 emmys for his work, but Genie bore the brunt of the audience reaction, and didn’t receive her sole emmy for her work as Laura til almost 20 years afterward. In recent years she’s spoken up. All the people who demanded this story are long gone. She doesn’t have to toe the line anymore.

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Do not blame TG he was very upset over this storyline it bothered him for a long time and he loved Genie but he hated the story ! TG struggled to keep his personal life secret and I for one supported him 100 percent now why don’t we get past this and move on. I was a teenager when he and YR came and did a fan club people yelling rape me Luke ! He was very upset I was in the audience he hated it

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General Hospital shamefully allowed and did not protect either Genie or Tony from the effects of this horrid storyline. They had already allowed Genie to be placed in a relationship with David Hamilton, one adult male that ended with his murder, so why not continue to put her in other sexualized situations. Genie stated in her Lifetime interview, that GH “strongly encouraged ” her to drop out of high school so that she would not be bound be the hour restrictions for acting minors. She stated by the time she was 16, she was working full time, supporting her family, dropped out of high school and by 17 in her own apartment and in an off camera dating relationship with Kin Shriner. When Tony and Genie were put together she was 17 and he was 27. The writers and producers misused Tony and Genie to carry the blame, audience/public perception, shame without any consideration of how this one scene would effect their careers as actors, themselves as actors and as humans forever. They allowed Tony to be tortured so badly that he chose to relocate to Amsterdam decades ago for peace of mine and mental security. Genie chose to relocate with her husband and children as far way from LA as you could go and in an interview angrily commented that she refused to answer any more questions about that storyline in the future. GH should be ashamed of how they treated Genie and Tony.

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I remember the poignant scenes between Emily McLaughlin who played Nurse Jessie Brewer and Genie Francis’ Laura. Laura was in a GH hospital room after she was raped, crying and telling the Nurse she would never be clean again. Nurse Brewer told Laura that was nonsense, because she’d never been dirty. Nurse Brewer gently cleaned her up and was very calming to Laura. These scenes are what I remember from that period, not the stuff in the disco.

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You are correct. The whole storyline is on YouTube, in chronological order. It starts out as a responsibly-written date rape story. It was actually before it was called date rape. The phrase they kept using in those counselling sessions was acquaintance rape. Then they spend well over a year unfolding it as a redemption story for Luke. The “let’s lie to ourselves and say it was a seduction” starts to happen when they are coming back to each other after their break-up after the left handed boy story. There’s literally a scene where they’re at the Floating Rib and Luke says something about the night at the disco “where we made love.”. And Laura says “You mean the night you raped me.”. And Luke brushes her off with “Oh Laura.”. It was ridiculous. The big problem was Laura was already in love with and fascinated with Luke before he ever raped her. Due to her young age and her David Hamilton trauma, it really wasn’t love. But when your LnL audience is mostly impressionable teenagers and they’re saving your show from cancellation, the show runners ran with it. It put Genie, Tony and GH on the map. But sadly, it was a double edged sword for Genie and Tony.

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There were 2 scenes where they called it “making love.” Luke said it on the sailboat and Laura responded, just as you describe above. A year later (1981) after Luke and Laura had broken up but were starting to talk again, they were in the restaurant and Laura was the one who said it was “making love,” and Luke looks kind of horrified by the statement.

I’ve read too that Tony said the scene was more violent originally and he suggested that when he told her to dance with him he just put out his hand. He also took Genie aside ahead of time to make sure she wouldn’t be traumatized by the experience.

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I missed those scenes. Would love to find them. Will never forget how much I enjoyed watching Emily and John Beradino. I started watching in the late 70s, but immediately respected the legacy that they represented.

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I am so glad that soaps are no longer displaying rape as seduction or having the two people fall in love. DAYS did this with EJ and Sami. She believed him to be her friend, and then revealed his true self by demanding sex or he wouldn’t help her save Lucas, who was injured. There was no misunderstanding what that was and later they had them fall madly in love, become soul mates and eventually marry. Totally sending the wrong message.

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Oh please. Every one in the aftermath of me too wants to rewrite the past. At the time this storyline was written rape like the casting couch was not taken as seriously as it is today. Girls grew up reading bodice rippers as teenagers in books where rape fantasies commonly played out. Soaps mirrored the trend. Days had a story where rape victim Susan Martin fell in love with and married her rapist. Bill Horton raped his sister in law, impregnated her and later married her. Rapist Roger Thorpe was an anti hero. Even my gold standard soap of the 1970’s Ryan Hope had a scene where married Frank Ryan raped wife Delia in their bed because she was nagging him and he was fed up. There were dozens of other instances on soaps that played out that I can’t remember. General Hospital is egregious because it had used a sexualized minor teen Laura in the David Hamilton story that caused the soap to rise in the ratings. That forgotten storyline is equally egregious as it involved a child rape and is usually only viewed as a murder mystery instead of the rape of a minor child. The show was near the top of the ratings before Luke and Laura’s rape. They used the Luke and Laura rape scenario to cement the ratings lead. They played that Luke and Laura rape scene with the music theme Rise hundreds of time and knew exactly what they were doing. That music was so popular it became known as the theme from Laura’s rape. The people who objected like John Bernardino were blackballed. 40 years later it all looks different now. I’d have a lot more respect for everyone if they would tell the truth, acknowledge the culture of the time, admit that they having been educated view the world much differently now and express remorse about promoting a storyline that taught millions of young girls there is such a thing as good rape.

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Preach! Yes, they most certainly flashbacked to the rape scene daily. Herb Alpert’s Rise feels like the soundtrack of my youth it was played so much. Along with the fog horns and the ship bells during every docks scene. But I digress.

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All I know is that 47 years ago, I adored Luke & Laura and was glued to my TV at 3 pm Monday-Friday from approximately 1978-1982. (My college years)
I refuse to apologize or feel guilty about it.

Reply

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

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20 hours ago

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August 20, 2026

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Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Chad Duell

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.

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GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ric’s History of Jealousy Where Elizabeth is Concerned Has Come Back Around

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1 day ago

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August 20, 2026

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Ric

On General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Heart) is about to fall back into dangerous old patterns by the foreshadowing during the Wednesday, August 19 episode. After first coming to see his brother, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and telling him of his plan to propose to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) his longtime love tonight, Sonny has concerned.

Next, Sonny reminds his brother of what has happened in the past, when things have gone south with Elizabeth and wonders if it’s too soon for him to propose to her. What Ric did not tell Sonny is that he has seen the developing closeness between Sonny’s son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth, which is propelling his urgent need to propose.

Meanwhile, Dante ran into Elizabeth at the park during a break from their mutual team softball games. She needs help with a bookcase after the game at her house. Dante wants to put it together for her. Later, Dante arrived at Elizabeth’s house, limping after injuring his knee during the game. Head nurse Liz wanted to check out the injury as much as Dante protested, which required him to take off his pants.

Courtesy/ABC

RIC BEGINS TO UNRAVEL

Outside Elizabeth’s widow, Ric arrives with a bouquet of roses and the engagement ring. When he leers through the widow he is shocked to see Elizabeth rubbing Dante’s leg while Dante is in his boxer/shorts. He storm troops into the house, demanding to know what is going on here? Both Elizabeth and Dante look surprised by his reaction. In the pick-up of today’s Thursday, August 20 episode (see GH video teaser below), viewers will learn the upshot for all three characters.

A VENGEFUL PAST

As longtime GH fans know, Ric has done some horrible, vengeful things in regards to Elizabeth starting back in 2003 after she lost her baby after Ric’s ex, Faith Rosco pushed her down a flight of stairs. Ric accused Sonny for the accident and to get revenge, Ric kidnapped Carly (who was married to Sonny at the time), and stashed her in a panic room below the house where he was living with Liz.

On top of that, Ric fed his wife Elizabeth birth control pills to keep her from getting pregnant so that they could raise Carly’s baby together after it was born. Eventually, Elizabeth found Carly in the panic room but ended up having a pulmonary embolism. When she woke up in the hospital, Elizabeth was all confused by what happened, and Ric convinced her that her vision of  Carly was just a bad dream. Eventually, Elizabeth learned the horrifying truth and divorced Ric.

Years later, Ric noticed the connection between Elizabeth and “Jake Doe” who eventually turned out to be Drew (Billy Miller) A jealous Ric hired Hayden Barnes to show up and claim to be “Jake’s” wife. Elizabeth stepped aside, and when Ric planned to propose to Elizabeth at the 2015 Nurses Ball, Carly exposed his manipulations, and Elizabeth dumped him yet again. And those are just two examples of the lengths Ric will go to for Elizabeth!

So, we ask you, given the history of Elizabeth and Ric, how do you see this playing out with Dante in the picture? How will Ric derail their growing bond? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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‘General Hospital’ Alum Jonathan Jackson Shares Emotional Tribute to His ‘Nashville’ Leading Lady Hayden Panettiere

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2 days ago

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August 19, 2026

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The entertainment world has been mourning the loss of Hayden Panettiere, who died on Sunday at the age of 36. Panettiere, who was so familiar to daytime drama fans in the roles of a very young Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light, also starred as an adult in the primetime music city soap opera, Nashville as country and western singer, Juliette Barnes.

Panettiere’s leading man in the series, was none other than six-time Daytime Emmy-winner, Jonathan Jackson (ex-Lucky Spencer, General Hospital) who played musician Avery Barkley.

The actress’ death is still under investigation in Greenville, South Carolina, now calling in the DEA  after the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said there was “no signs of trauma that were discovered that would have contributed to the death.” Hayden’s body was released to her family on Tuesday, August. 18. It is believed Panettiere died of an “overdose.”

Photo: ABC

WE GREW UP IN THE INDUSTRY

Jonathan Jackson took to his Instagram on Wednesday night, August 19 to share poignant words in remembrance of his Nashville co-star. “I have no words to express the loss of our beloved Hayden,” began Jackson. “She had such a bright light within her. She was a sensitive soul. Incredibly funny and witty. Amazingly gifted, with a great sense of empathy and compassion. We both grew up in the industry, although she started even younger than me, but we shared that. A silent knowing of how intense the struggles can be.”

Panetierre started in show business in 1990 at only 11-months-old, while Jackson was cast on General Hospital in 1993 as Luke (Anthony Geary) and Lauras’s (Genie Francis) son, Lucky when he was 11-years-old. Jonathan drew on the parallels in their lives for his remembrance to his late former co-star.

“She was an absolute joy to work with. Focused, spontaneous and brilliant,” continued Jackson. “The most important thing between friends and coworkers is trust, and we had this. Elisa (formerly, Lisa Vultaggio) and I both love and cherish her deeply, like our own sister. She holds that place in our hearts. My prayer for her every day we worked together was that she would know how loved she is, and that she would find the peace that she was looking for.”

WE LOVE YOU, HAYDEN

Sadly, Jonathan concluded with, “It’s not possible to express the shock and grief that so many of us feel right now. Our humble prayers are with her family. May God’s angels carry you to your place of rest and true peace. We love you Hayden. You will always be in our hearts. Always.”

Nashville ran for four seasons from 2012-2016 on ABC, and then moved to CMT for its final two seasons from 2016-2018. The actors on the show could also sing and like Jackson, Hayden had a powerful singing voice that was showcased in the series as well as her undeniable acting chops.

Michael Fairman TV previously shared more of Panettiere’s Guiding Light and Nashville co-star tributes here.

So, what did you think of Jonathan Jackson’s very touching tribute to Hayden Panettiere? Did you love them as Juliette and Avery on Nashville? What have you thought about the ongoing investigation into Hayden’s death? Share your thoughts via the comment section.

 

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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