Renee Jones Leaving DAYS OF OUR LIVES

TV Guide Magazine is reporting that Renee Jones has quit DAYS OF OUR LIVES and will be exiting the NBC soap as Lexie Carver in June. The character will die.

"I am so excited about this decision," she says. "It's been on my mind for over a year. I am so grateful to Days for 20 years of steady employment — it's been a fantastic opportunity — but I finally had to stop and ask myself, 'What really makes me happy? What really brings me joy in life?' And it's not acting. I just don't want to do this anymore."

RELATED:
- INTERVIEW: Renee Jones On DAYS OF OUR LIVES Past & Present, And The State Of Diversity On TV

OPEN LETTER: Ellen Holly Reveals The True Story Of Her Time At ONE LIFE TO LIVE

Legendary actress Ellen Holly has published "An Open Letter to the Fans and Historians of ONE LIFE TO LIVE". Holly was an original cast member of ONE LIFE in 1968 and was a fan favorite immediately and throughout her run which ended in 1985. She was not the first black actor on contract with a daytime soap but was certainly the first black star of daytime and paved the way for future stars like Debbi Morgan, Darnell Williams, Kristoff St. John, Victoria Rowell, Tamara Tunie and others.

For any longtime fan of daytime television, the lack of minority characters onscreen has been obvious. As the minority population of the United States has grown in the past 20 years, the volume of minority characters on soaps has actually decreased. Why is this?

Stars like Rowell have spoken out in interviews (and on Twitter) about the lack of diversity not only in front of the camera but behind the scenes as well. What has been missing was tangible evidence, numbers, that paint a clearer picture that can not be dismissed as sour grapes.

Hall paints a vivid picture of how she was hired, what her salary was compared to the other "stars" of ONE LIFE, what really happened when she was fired from the soap, and the timeline of when she found out damning information which lead to her writing this new open letter.

Below are a few of the more interesting quotes:

INTERVIEW: Renee Jones On DAYS OF OUR LIVES Past & Present, And The State Of Diversity On TV

Renee Jones has been playing Lexie Carver on DAYS OF OUR LIVES since 1993. Over the past 18 years her character has faced many ups and downs including finding out that Stefano DiMera was her father! But what were her favorite storylines? And how does she think about the current election twist? And how does she feel about the current state of diversity on television? Find out all this and more in our new interview below.

WE LOVE SOAPS TV: It's been several months since you started shooting with the "rebooted" DAYS OF OUR LIVES. How have the changes been for you, and for Lexie?