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Latest Report On Y&R Josh Griffith Situation Says Headwriter Was Fired?!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Over the last week there have been reports starting with Highlight Hollywood that Y&R headwriter, Josh Grifith quit the number soap, and alerted his team via an email that he was stepping down as head scribe due to creative differences.

Now in an updated report over the weekend from Soap Opera Uncensored, the E-zine reports via Nelson Branco, a different story and scenario!

SOU stated on the Griffith exit situation: “According to my high-profile sources. He was let go four weeks ago.” Then added, “Josh was fired,” boldly states a very reliable source. “He didn’t quit.  Jill Farren Phelps (JFP) is now going to insert her own creative vision into the show.”

So with all this back-stage drama it would appear Griffith is out, one way, or the other.  Now comes the question; is Shelly Altman who was rumored to be taking over as interim or co-head writer on board in that position? Will GH’s Jean Passanante join the Y&R team as the other co-headwriter?  Where is this all leading? What and who do you hope is the resolution to the headwriter spot or spots in the writing department?  Comment below!

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quote;
” Jill Farren Phelps (JFP) is now going to insert her own creative vision into the show.””

great!! now the boring stagnate Y&R will get some action drama, that it badly needs ..

(looking forward to new and better stories!!)

This post must be from JFP because no one who is informed about her or loves soaps would want her to remain on this show. “Insert her own creative vision into this show? This makes me shutter, we need deliverance from this plague of a woman before its too late for YR. I dont watch YR to see SB I watch it because of the vets who have kept this show #1. SB couldnt do it for GH what makes her think he will do it for YR?

ditto!!!

By what I’m reading it appears it’s a child with too much free unsupervised time just trying to stir the pot. The responses are very immature writing and just repeat themselves using phrases from other posters to try to sound like they know what they are talking about.

i could not have said it better myself!!!

FIRE JFP now. She is the root of our issues. Why doesn’t Sony & Y&R see that? End the political BS and think of the fans. We want our show back. FIRE JFP.

I and others are not among your ”we”..
I have liked JFP’s writing/ideas ..
Having her take more control is what will being Y&R back..
At least now there will be action and high drama!!!

Su0000, ur crazy!!!!!

su0000, you are the ONLY person I’ve seen who supports JFP’s “vision” and likes it. So I would say those of us who hate her vision are in the majority.

su0000 = Jill Farren Phelps or Steve Burton. With Josh Griffith’s exiting that spells doom for #YR. The show is already almost unrecognizable now as it is. At least Josh understood and cared somewhat about character history and the Bell legacy. Jill Farren Phelps doesn’t and never will.

You are entitled to your opinion. However I tweet and talk to apt of fans who include themselves in the ‘WE’ and this number is growing leaps and bounds for the onscreen Y&R. Now for back of the house you are right JFP is adding a lot of unnecessary drama . She plays favorites, throws people under the bus, disregards vets, history, fans and is very destructive. I for one want her out!

One of the things she will probably add is a violent rape or killing of a female character she loves those. Think Santa Barbara, Another World & GH. Or running over a child she likes that to. Guza will probably end up over there before long.

Y&R has been stagnant on some of the long running secrets. Was looking forward to some reckonings sooner than later so maybe this new team will fill the voids!

JFP never has, does not and never will belong at Y&R. Bring back Kay Alden and Jack Smith.

thank you. This is exactly what I’ve been thinking since news broke that JG is leaving Y&R. JFP is running the show into the ground. What Y&R desperately needs is a jolt of veteran writers who care about the show’s history, and a new EP who won’t hire awful actors for meaningless newbie roles

The ‘Powers That Be” at Y&R need to sit and read the comments of fans on Twitter. I believe they above everyone, have seen the actual end to in-depth characters, the very loved veterans of the show. It is now chop-chop with unrealistic situations, no real connection to who these characters are and had grown to become. The women on the show are now all trashed. They have been turned into manipulative, selfish, weak, indecisive woman who previously were strong, had lives with worth. Now it seems it’s all about lies, taking advantage of another character – no matter what. It’s rather like the daily news – more bad. I believe anyone writing for Y&R needs to be fully aware of the life story of the veteran characters. Bring them back to the forefront of the story lines. Forget the younger actors with their weak, ridiculous story lines. So many fans of the show are fed up and are even are saying they are no longer watching.
Is this long-standing show not the #1 on surveys for many years? If so, with all the complaints from fans and even published articles enough to trigger a shift to returning Y&R to it’s interpersonal drama that is so loved by everyone.
My sympathies are with the cast and crew these days as obviously some, if not all, are aware of the public discontent.

Well the proof will be in the pudding—in the end– viewers will determine the vision for the show– if we like what we see we will watch, if we don’t we won’t. In end the only thing network’s care about is ratings— so viewers ultimately have the power—to tune in or tune out is our choice– and that is the one thing JFP can never control.

I would love to see David Shaughnessy, Jack Smith, and Kay Alden run Y&R That is my dream team for the show. Also add in some others who are familiar with Y&R history to help in the writing department.

JFP is the one who needs to be going! She almost killed General Hospital, and now she’s doing the same. She also killed off beloved characters like Guiding Light’s Maureen Bauer and Another World’s Frankie Frame, and viewers and fans were up in arms over those choices.

And she’s making the show so bad that long term vets leave or want to leave. And she’s made Steve Burton the centerpiece of the show. Ugh!

Nonsense 🙂

yes she almost killed G,.H. now she killing Y&R. she need to go.

Su000 are you kidding me? Jill Farren Phelps is the kiss of death. The day she left GH waste a rebirth. The show is fantastic now and the numbers reflect that. JFP cares about “her” vision and could care less about the actors (she plays favorites and doesn’t even try to hide it) and even less about the fans. Just remember one thing if GH didn’t let her go it would not be on their today.

You said it dee and Angela.

I completely agree with you. JFP systematically destroyed GH, the show was hanging by the thinnest thread, and it was saved by Frank and Ron. Y&R needs to return to its roots and rebuild the dream Bill Bell had for it. that won’t happen with satan’s understudy sitting behind the big desk.

Big mistake!!

Jill farren phelps inserting her vision for the show. Lord help us and the veteran actors if y and r

I disagree.. Jill has done some great work..
She has been doing this most her life and she is still doing a good job and being offered work.
Jill needs more hands on, she has a great imagination..
I am looking forward to seeing the changes in Y&R which is now as boring as watching hair trying to grow on a statute.

She will put some drama and action into Y&R.. 🙂

JFP needs to be removed from daytime permanently.

R U JFP? LOL!

lmao aria, must be JFP, or Steve Burton! lol

The veteran actors like EB, MTS, AND DD, got to keep their jobs, it was the talent of MS, BM, AND MOST IMORTANT MM, who got the axe. She set MM up to get fired, so she could put her pet peeve SB front and center.

The ONLY possible good resolution to this mess would be for SONY/Y and R to fire JFP!!! Nothung less!!!!

JFP’s vision….a blank screen.

lol
It would fall on the Y&R headwriter, Josh Grifith what we are seeing came mostly from his work, his responsibility to write good stories is his job…
therefore her decision to now step in 🙂

It can only get better now, Josh Grifith’s writing stank ..

I’m not saying Josh has been a fantastic writer, but I will bet anything that JFP didn’t let him tell the stories he wanted to tell, the way he wanted them to be told, because she needed to fit Steve Burton into the show somehow, and fill the rest of the canvas with newbies that can’t act. JFP is the one who needs to go, and if you can’t see how she systematically destroyed Another World, General Hospital, and other soaps, your ignorance is impairing your good sense and judgement.

lol Chaz

I too am absolutely mystified that JFP got this job and remains in it. I have resolved, after 13 years, to switch to DAYS after Katherine’s funeral. I have been sampling it at night since ED joined and even though she is leaving, I think it will be my daytime appointment. It has everything Y&R lacks. And that hurts. I started with Y&R in high school 13 years ago but aside from some actors, nothing has been recognizable since about 2 months after JFP started. it feels like a different show. 🙁

I hope Sony steps in and removed JFP. Bill Bell created a wonderful serial with Y&R. It deserves to remain true to the vision that began its excellent run. I would like to see Bradley Bell be EP of both Y&R and B&B. he sould have co-EP of Ed Scott and/or David Shaunessey – folks that have experience and vested interest in the credibility of the original show.

There are a cadre of ecellent writers assigned to 30 min soap, B&B. I would like to see Kay Alden return as HW with several of the more experienced key writers from B& B – like Patrick Mulcahey.

Jean Passanante belongs with Valentini and Carlivati at ABC now. Y&R needs writers who know the roots of the show. I hope this disruption leads to a restoration of a wonderful show with a rich history. Not another recycle of showrunners who have had mixed career results at 3-5 lapsed shows.

Shelley Altman does not have strength and experience to lead the writing of a show like Y&R – and stand up to a force like JFP. Sony needs to intercede now.

No kidding. Remember when Y&R was the power horse of daytime? Sad.

Exactly, and I liked your previous comment about Ed Scott or David Shaughnessy returning as EP or Co-EPs. Personally, it would be a dream come true for me if Kay Alden and Jack Smith came back to Y&R, as well as other veteran writers to round out the writing team. But NOT Jean Passanante! She shredded ATWT down to the bare bone and it got cancelled. We don’t need another spawn of satan at Y&R right now!

The thing is, if Shelly Altman is elevated to head writer, all she’ll be in JFP’s little minion, carrying out her narrow-minded “creative” vision for a show she knows nothing about.

I don’t know anything about JFP except for tons of fans saying she is a soap killer, if she is known for getting soaps canceled why in the world hire her, also I’m hearing of a spoler, going around that Dylan is Nikki and Jack’s son. so that is her vision?

PLEASE!!! FIRE JFP!! She has ruined Y&R; it’s nothing like the show I’ve loved watching since it’s beginning. Sharon’s character is painfully hard to watch, Nick has become a wishy washy character, Nicky is teetering around babbling useless dialogue like she’s drunk, and I’m sick to death of the whole BORING BORING BORING Winters clan. Poor Jack has been crying for the past 6 months, and too much emphasis has been placed on Billy and Victoria and their non-relationship. Where’s the fire? The romance? The heartwarming story lines Y&R is famous for? Surely the loss of Jeanne Cooper and the response from fans, should highlight what soap opera fans really want – Strong Characters!! Jill needs to stop into Catherine’s shoes and start breathing some life into Geneoa City!

Jill needs to “step” into Catherine’s shoes….

JFP destroyed GH and now she is trashing Y&R. I stopped watching GH after she took over and almost didn’t come back to it. If not for the three OLTL characters’ crossover and Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati taking over, I would have given up on GH all together. Luckily that show’s been revived. How the powers that be over at Y&R thought it would be a good idea to bring the queen of gloom and doom to the number one soap is beyond me. Please Y&R, stop the nonsense and give JFP the boot!

For me, it no longer matters who takes over.

I’ll hang around until I’ve seen Katherine’s funeral (September 3 & 4 ),
then I’ll “pull a Jeanne Cooper” and say “Good Night” to Y&R.

JFP is a nightmare. I always thought Y&R would be safe from her. I may have to switch to GH because its finally getting good again with her gone. So Sad.

I just would love to know who the little birdy is over at Y&R that gives him all the scoop! I want their number! The bottom line is it is what it is their have been stories in the past that I have shook my head over I really think he wanted to straighten out the Sharon mess but JFP needed a villain. And I do know he had always wanted Summer to be Jacks kid but at this point who cares. And if Sharon Case loses her job she will be part of a list of some fine actresses that JFP got rid of on other soaps.

She sounds like a control freak. Little we can do but sit back and see what happens. I really didn’t think Josh was doing a bad job.

She always has been. She drove Guiding Light’s fantastic Beverlee McKinsey (Alexandra) away by not listening to her, and the show wasn’t the same after she left. Lost a LOT of class after that. But she doesn’t care.

Phelps needs to go NOW and Altman doesn’t have the qualifications to write a show like YR…she doesn’t know the history.

Get rid of the poison that Phelps is!

If Josh Griffith was fired 4 weeks ago, who the hell is the Head Writer? Why don’t they confirm or deny all these rumors? When will they announce that Josh Griffith is gone?

I find it weird that he’s been gone for a month already and NOBODY at CBS or SONY will address it!

We know Josh is out since Brent Boyd and Eric Braeden have responded to tweets on this subject, so when is Angelica McDaniel or Jill Phelps going to speak?

This is all very strange. Why all the secrecy? Everyone knows Josh is gone so just make a statement already!

it is because the cowards at Sony and CBS know how much the fans hate JFP and their will be an uproar when fans learn she is the head writer. which would explain the crap we see

JFP is the kiss of death to fans of any soap she gets her hands on. She does irreparable harm to a show – killing off characters, especially babies and children. Because nothing screams entertainment to a fan like a dead child, right?
Y&R isn’t even recognizable anymore. I have zero respect for a producer that has the arrogance to put their own “creative stamp” on a long running, highly rated daytime drama. Seriously – who do you think you are? JFP inspires more dislike than any other daytime producer.
Compare her with current GH producer and what do you see? A hated producer and a loved producer, because the fans are listened to. History is respected and celebrated on GH.

She’s an egomaniac and should only do those teen dramas, but even those were canceled lol.

I thought Jill Farren Phelps was the person who was messing up Y and R. Please bring back Maria Arena Bell.

At this point I’d rather have MAB back.

I don’t doubt there’s more to the story than meets the eye, but Nelson Branco as a source? Um, not exactly the most credibly guy in the business.

Like most executive producers who work or have worked in soaps, Jill is only as good as her headwriter(s). Case in point: Guiding Light. When she was teamed with Nancy Curlee as the headwriter, it was phenomenally good; several other writing teams followed Curlee’s departure, and it was . . . so-so, and occasionally just dreadful. If Jill’s “creative vision” is so vital, one would have expected a different outcome.

They took creative control away from her at General Hospital for a reason.

Do you mean Kill Farren Phelps will be taking over ?Will Y&R be filled with FOJ’s? The main reason I don’t watch Y&R is kill Farren Phelps. So SB is still there.I shut off GH becasues of too much mob, killer hit man, so I will never watch Y&R with them there. Those of you who like her ,great .She loves to kill off characters and bring on her FOJ’s. Hey maybe she can hook Guza and Maurice Bernard. Now that would be great for the GH fans.

If CBS/SONY really wanted to fix Y&R they would pull out all the stops to put Kay Alden back in charge of the writing team and bring back either Ed Scott, David Shaughnessey or Jack Smith as Executive Producer.

These were the people who worked with and were groomed by the late Bill Bell and these are the ONLY people who can fix this mess and salvage these characters.

It is a shame beyond words to see what once was the most stable, intelligent, and classy daytime drama go down the same horrible path that all the other soaps have already gone down and failed miserably. Wake up!! Changing the show’s writers and producers and replacing them with other writers from other soaps DOES NOT WORK and NEVER WILL. You can’t just jump into the head writing position and expect to know how to write for a show. You need years, decades of grooming by writers already in place. You need to work your way up. This is what Y&R had in place under Bill Bell and then Alden. Why did they destroy this? How can they be so stupid?

Days Of Our Lives

Brytni Sarpy Joins the Cast of ‘Days of Our Lives’

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Brytni Sarpy

More casting news from Days of Our Lives, and for now, the soap opera seems to be breaking their new additions to Salem via their Instagram account. Now comes word and picture on August 24, that General Hospital and The Young and the Restless alum Brytni Sarpy has joined DAYS!

The Peacock soap opera’s Instagram account, showed a photo of Sarpy standing in front of her dressing room in the hallways of Days of Our Lives’ studios. The caption read, “Someone new is checking into Salem… Welcome Brytni Sarpy to the Days of our Lives family! Stay tuned.”

The casting of Sarpy comes on the heels of the announcement of Sydney Malakeh coming to the show in September, and earlier this year General Hospital favorite, Sofia Mattsson (ex-Sasha Gilmore, GH) joining the show in a mystery role when she began taping back around the end of March of this year. Now Sarpy is the “mystery role” category too!

Photo: JPI

SOAP HOPPING

Soap fans first met Sarpy when she played Valerie Spencer, the niece of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Bobbie Spencer (Jackie Zeman) on General Hospital back in 2015. She made her final appearance on the series back in 2019 to join the cast of The Young and the Restless in the role of Elena Dawson.

Elena was introduced as a love interest for Devon Winters (Bryton James). She later cheated on him with his cousin Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic). Elena began to be back-burned by 2023 with Sarpy’s last on-screen appearance in Genoa City in November of 2024.

Due to Days of Our Lives nearly year in advance tape schedule, viewers will have to wait till sometime in the early summer of 2027 to see Brytni’s arrival in Salem.

So, happy to see Brytni Sarpy has landed another soap role? Now that she is at DAYS, who you think she might be playing and paired with? Put on your casting director hats and let us know via the comment section.

 

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‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Jacqueline MacInnes Wood Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’

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Jacqueline MacInnes Wood

Last week, The Bold and the Beautiful gave three-time Lead Actress Daytime Emmy winner, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, the material to go for a fourth in 2027. In an emotional scenes, Wood showcased her sadness, feeling of betrayal and abandoned by her husband, Finn, to her good friend and co-worker, Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor).

But here’s the catch; Wood, as well as Saint-Victor, played the scenes completely drunk. First, Steffy drinks herself silly on the plane home from Monaco after finding out Finn’s (Tanner Novlan) mother, Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) who she has PTSD about with good reason, boarded the plane with him to Europe and kept it a secret. Steffy had already thrown her ring at her husband and storm trooped to the airport after seeing momma Carter in Monaco.

Later, Steffy somehow stumbles into the Forrester Creations CEO office, and suddenly Carter also shows up. He is also schnokereed from knocking back one after the other over Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) walking out on him.

Photo: JPI

Suddenly, Steffy opens up her heart to Carter, “I need to be safe, so it’s over. We’re over,” speaking about her marriage to Finn. She says, “I keep replaying this moment. There was this shift. I saw it. I asked him if he was OK. Then, I realized what he was looking at ….Sheila. She was right there. And my husband wasn’t going to protect me… he wasn’t going to be there for me.”

Steffy is full on in upset-mode, that in that moment she put her faith in Finn’s commitment to her, he didn’t come through with “actions”, and that his word meant nothing. Carter winds up sitting next to Steffy on the desk of the office, blindsided by each of their partners.

Suddenly, Steffy becomes hysterical, and lets out all of her rage and Carter takes her in his arms and says “I got you.”  Then, in the pick-up of the next morning, it appeared as if Carter and Steffy had sex together and passed out.

When Steffy came to she freaked out. Realizing, there wer texts from Finn trying to reach her, she wasn’t home for her kids, and she panicked and had to get out of there. When Carter tried to talk to her, she couldn’t in that moment, feeling so guilt-ridden and ashamed for her betraying her marriage like this, when she truly loves Finn.

Photo: JPI

Once she gets back home as a disheveled mess, she runs into her mother, Taylor (Rebecca Budig), before Finn arrives and lays it on thick and begs for forgiveness. Trying to recover from her hangover, her night with Carter and what all went down, as Finn talks, everything is confusing for Steffy, as she cries. She wants to tell her husband what she did and confess. But will she?

By the end of last week, Carter is begging Steffy to keep her mouth shut about their booze-filled night together, but she cries that lying to her husband and it is eating her up. Carter tells Steffy the truth of their night together can never come out for so many reasons; least of all his relationship with her father, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Daphne. Will Steffy eventually crumble and spill the beans or stay quiet? Stay tuned!

Throughout all the very soapy scenarios, we have to say, we enjoyed Wood’s performances as it showed a more vulnerable, letting her guard down from the often holier-than- thou Steffy Forrester. We also think its material taking out of context that would be just right for many Emmy voters next year. So with all that said, Michael Fairman TV gives the Power Performance of the Week to B&B’s Jacqueline MacInnes Wood.

So, do you agree with our pick as Jacqueline MacInnes Wood as the Power Performance of the Week? Did you think she delivered in the scenes from the time Steffy left her husband in Monaco, through the drunken binge with Carter, to back home and being confronted with Finn wanting her to take him back? Let us know in the comment section below.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks 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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