General Hospital star Ingo Rademacher reportedly reopens ABC lawsuit after Steve Burton rehire: Details explored

Ingo Rademacher, who has played Jasper "Jax" Jacks on General Hospital for nearly three decades, is reigniting his legal fight with ABC after the network fired him in November 2021 over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Rademacher, who joined the soap opera in 1996 and made several appearances over the years, was terminated after he refused to comply with the vaccine policy at the height of the pandemic. He filed a religious and political discrimination case, but this was dismissed in June 2023.

Now, Rademacher is calling for the case to be reopened, this time because he believes new evidence exists to support his political discrimination claim: Steve Burton, Jason Morgan, and a former co-star have also been rehired from General Hospital after declining the vaccine mandate. Steve was reinstated at General Hospital in 2024 when the mandate was ended. Rademacher was left out in the cold.

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Why was Ingo Rademacher originally let go from General Hospital?

In November 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height, ABC made it compulsory for all its productions to go through a vaccine mandate to ensure the safety of the cast and crew. Rademacher refused to get vaccinated, citing religious objections, and filed for a religious exemption that was denied. Later, the actor was fired and Jax left the canvas.

After his dismissal, Rademacher filed a lawsuit against ABC, claiming religious and disability discrimination and political retaliation. He claimed that the vaccine views he had expressed were based on his beliefs, and it was unfair that he had been dismissed while his request for exemption was being processed.

On the other hand, ABC refuted that Rademacher's objections were religious and added that his departure was contemplated before the implementation of the mandate.

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How does Steve Burton's rehire impact Rademacher's lawsuit on General Hospital?

Steve Burton, another character on General Hospital, played Jason Morgan. Steve Burton was fired in 2021 for refusing the vaccine mandate. Rademacher did not take legal action; instead, he worked on the set of Days of Our Lives. In 2024, once ABC rescinded its vaccine mandate, Steve Burton returned, and Jason Morgan went back to Port Charles.

Rademacher is using Burton's rehire as proof in his appeal to have the case reopened, arguing it illustrates political discrimination against him. He says that the network reinstating Burton but not him suggests bias unrelated to vaccine compliance. ABC, however, insists that the situations are different and that Burton's return had nothing to do with the alleged political motives.

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Was Rademacher’s dismissal politically motivated?

Rademacher claims that ABC had plans to write him off General Hospital before the vaccine mandate came into effect, implying that his dismissal was politically motivated rather than safety protocol-related. He says his outspoken political views, which often clash with the network's perceived stance, played a significant role in his firing.

ABC denied the allegations, as the talks of Jax possibly leaving the show were always part of normal storyline planning that had nothing to do with politics. While the appeal is still on, this would make the case more complex as it would raise questions concerning how much political beliefs or personal convictions interfere with workplace policies in the entertainment industry.

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Interested viewers can catch the episodes of General Hospital on ABC every weekday.