“General Hospital,” the longest-running soap opera on television, has been rocked with departures following the implementation of a Covid vaccine mandate.
In recent weeks, two of the show’s most-popular and well-established actors were fired over vaccine requirements imposed by Disney-owned ABC that went into effect on November 1.
Ingo Rademacher, who has played bad-boy Jasper “Jax” Jacks since 1996, is an outspoken conservative who had drawn the ire of castmates in the past for his criticism of transgender Assistant Secretary for Health, Rachel Levine. He had also been openly critical of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, sharing calls for walkouts by health care and government workers on his social media accounts.
On November 7, the actor posted an anti-mandate statement to Instagram, saying, “I will stand with you to fight for medical freedom.” The next day, sources told The Hollywood Reporter he had been fired from the show. Rademacher’s final episode aired on Monday, November 22.
Just one day later, on November 23, Rademacher’s co-star Steve Burton — who has played General Hospital mob boss Jason Morgan for 30 years — announced in an Instagram video that he, too, had been fired over his refusal to get vaccinated:
I wanted you to hear it from me personally. Unfortunately, ‘General Hospital’ has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied. Which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me. I don’t think anybody should lose their livelihood over this.
But with that being said, you know me, I’ll always be grateful for my time at ‘General Hospital.’ I love it there. I grew up there. I grew up with some of you…Maybe one day, if these mandate are lifted, I can return and finish my career as Jason Morgan.
Burton had already contracted COVID-19 in August, and likely has natural immunity, but it appears ABC was not willing to take that into consideration. His storyline was concluded on November 30 by revealing that his character had been killed off-screen during a tunnel collapse. According to Variety, ABC has no plans to recast Morgan’s role.
As The Daily Wire has previously reported, former ESPN sports anchor Allison Williams was ousted in October for her refusal to get the vaccine. ESPN, too, is owned by Disney.
Williams subsequently accepted a job with The Daily Wire. At the time of her departure from ESPN, she said:
I also want people to know who support these mandates that I fight for you. Because if this is the direction we take our country, there will come a time when the government or corporations mandate you to get something that does not align with your values. Power given is seldom returned. And when that day comes, I want you to at least know that we fought, and we tried.