General Hospital Alum Kim Delaney's Legal Issues, Explained
On "General Hospital," feisty reporter Jackie Templeton first came on the Port Charles scene in 1982 and was portrayed by Demi Moore. She left the show in 1984 and would go on to be a major movie star. In 2020, the role was recast with TV star Kim Delaney, and Jackie had no trouble jumping back into the chaos in town. She reconnected with her ex-boyfriend Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) and worked to help take down drug lord Cyrus Renault (Jef Kober). It was even revealed that she was the mother of Detective Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard) and was on hand when he nearly died after being poisoned by the villainous Peter August (Wes Ramsey).
Delaney started her soap career playing Jenny Gardner on "All My Children" in 1981 and went on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her "NYPD Blue" role as Diane Russell in 1997. She even got a Daytime Emmy nomination for playing Jackie on "GH" in 2021 for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series. In 2021, Jackie left Port Charles on business, and we haven't seen her since.
On January 23, 2024, TMZ reported that Delaney was being sued by motorcyclist Dzhamal Badalov, who claimed that while he was sitting at a red light in Los Angeles in 2022, she allegedly struck him with his car and fled the scene.
Delaney is being charged with a hit-and-run
TMZ's report continued as Dzhamal Badalov claimed that "General Hospital" star Kim Delaney had been swerving down Venice Boulevard before allegedly striking him and his motorcycle. He claimed that bystanders prevented her from driving away, and she got out of the car, appearing to him to be intoxicated.
Badalov also alleged that she spoke to someone on the phone who then attempted to persuade him to let her go without involving the police. When he refused, the person she was speaking to advised her to exit the scene, so she drove off. Now that Badalov is suing her, TMZ also discovered that she's in even more hot water as the city of Los Angeles is charging her with hit-and-run. Her court hearing is said to occur near the end of January 2024.
This wasn't the first incident that Delaney had been involved in. According to The Smoking Gun, in 2002, a motorist claimed that she was driving erratically on Malibu's Pacific Coast Highway and called the police. She was arrested for reckless driving, and the officers at the scene asked her to take a breathalyzer test, but she refused. With a lack of evidence to prove that she was intoxicated while driving at the time, she pleaded no contest and was fined $300. She also received two years of probation and had to take a driving safety course.