Ingo Rademacher, who plays Jasper “Jax” Jacks on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, has been fired from the show amid a series of controversial social media posts.
Producers for the long-running series recently let go of the German-born actor, 50, Us Weekly confirms. “His separation from General Hospital was prior to today and was because he declined to comply with the production’s vaccine mandate,” a source told Us on Monday, November 8.
The Alex Cross star has previously been outspoken about his opposition to vaccine requirements, which vary by production. As recently as Sunday, November 7, he shared an Instagram photo of himself with the caption, “I will stand with you to fight for medical freedom,” adding the hashtag “#nomandates.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum also made headlines over the weekend for reposting a transphobic tweet via Instagram on Sunday. The meme included photos of Dr. Rachel Levine, the first transgender person to earn a four-star rank in the United States uniformed services, and newly elected Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears. “Hello, and welcome to ClownTown, where the dude on the left is an empowering woman, and the woman on the right is a white supremacist,” the caption on the tweet read.
Some of Rademacher’s General Hospital costars quickly criticized him for the post. “I am aware of a transphobic post shared by a fellow General Hospital actor,” Cassandra James, who is transgender, tweeted on Sunday. “Shame on you. You have some serious unlearning and education to do. I feel deeply disappointed that such a public display of ignorance could come from our GH family.”
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Nancy Lee Grahn, another General Hospital star, confirmed on Monday that Rademacher is “mercifully” no longer part of the cast. “Transphobia & misgendering are disgusting & should be unacceptable in any industry, including soaps/acting,” the 7th Heaven alum, 65, tweeted. “I stand with my costar, @cassandrajames_, & the trans community.”
After the backlash, Rademacher posted a video on Monday apologizing for not crossing out the word “dude” in the post. “Me personally, I wouldn’t have written it that way,” he said via Instagram. “But the comparison there is just pointing out the hypocrisy of the left-wing media.”
The former Bold and the Beautiful star also apologized to James, 29, in the video. “I think you’re an absolute talent and you’re very beautiful as well,” he said. “I don’t think a transphobic man would say that.” He added that he would address the status of his job on General Hospital at a later date.
His final episode of General Hospital will air on ABC Monday, November 22, TVLine reports.
With reporting by Diana Cooper
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