maurice benard birthday bash gh
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

“Negativity makes me laugh.”

If there are two things we know for sure it’s that haters gonna hate… and that General Hospital‘s Maurice Benard learned long ago to ignore those who’d try and bring him down. While interacting with followers on Twitter recently, the actor proved that point… and also stopped a few hearts by seemingly acknowledging that at some point, we’ll all have to contemplate a Sonny-less Port Charles.

More: Sonny’s women wage war!

It all started when Jacqueline Meehan tweeted to Benard that he wouldn’t “believe the crap that goes down in chat rooms,” adding that a post which “hit the hardest” was one saying that he planned to retire from acting.

In response, the State of Mind host admitted, “I think about retiring all the time, but I always honor my contract.” He went on to say that “General Hospital is my second family, I’m having a great time right now.”

As for the haters — whether they be attacking Benard or his alter ego — he shared that their “negativity makes me laugh. Sometimes, it just fuels me to be great!”

More: Maurice teases a Mike/Sonny interview

That’s an attitude we could certainly all adopt (although in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to deal with haters in the first place!). And as @trichlw pointed out, Benard’s definitely turned hatred into a renewable energy source!

As for the retirement talk… well, it certainly shook some fans, including those who don’t always love Sonny’s storylines.

Rather than focus on the negative, why not join us in celebrating all things Sonny via the below photo gallery hitting some of the highlights (and low points) of his time in Port Charles?