Ingo Rademacher “No Longer a Part of the GH Cast”
There is some shocking news coming out of GENERAL HOSPITAL today: Ingo Rademacher (Jax) has reportedly been let go by the show. Co-star Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) reported Rademacher’s dismissal on Twitter and later in the day, GH confirmed that he was exiting and the actor’s last episode would air on Monday, Nov. 22.
Over the weekend, Rademacher shared to his Instagram stories a comment made by conservative author Allie Beth Stuckey calling Rachel Levine, the openly transgender United States Assistant Secretary for Health, a “dude.” On Twitter, GH star Cassandra James (Terry) — daytime’s first and only openly transgender woman playing a transgender character — wrote that she was aware of a “transphobic post shared by a fellow General Hospital actor. 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.”
Although Terry’s portrayer didn’t call out Rademacher by name, Grahn had no qualms about doing so when she retweeted James’ post and shared her own commentary on the matter. “The fellow actor, Ingo Rademacher, is no longer a part of the GH cast,” wrote Grahn. “Transphobia and misgendering are disgusting and should be unacceptable in any industry, including soaps/acting. I stand with my co-star, Cassandra James, and the trans community.”
It’s not clear if Rademacher’s exit from the soap after playing Jax on and off for 25 years stems from his misgendering post, or if that was just coincidental timing of GH’s Nov. 1 mandate requiring all staff members (on and off camera) to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus. Back in August, Grahn praised GH executive producer Frank Valentini and the leaders at ABC and Disney for listening “to science and protecting their employees. As of Nov. 1st, entry to GH requires proper vaccine card. No exceptions.”
As outspoken as Grahn has been in favor of the COVID vaccine, Rademacher, on the flip side, has been vocal about his stand against the mandate. The actor has not yet publicly commented on his GH exit, but in his last Instagram post, made on Nov. 7, he wrote, “I will stand with you to fight for medical freedom,” and used several hashtags, including medical freedom, no mandates, and coercion is not consent.
Check back with SoapsInDepth.com for further updates on this developing story.
