Broadway actor Laura Osnes says she quit show over vaccine requirement
Broadway star Laura Osnes said she quit a one-night benefit concert because the theater required actors to be vaccinated against Covid and she has decided not to get the shots.
The New York Post's Page Six reported last week that Osnes was fired from the one-night preview of "Crazy for You" at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Long Island on Aug. 29.
Osnes and the theater did not respond to requests for comment last week. Guild Hall did not respond to additional requests for comment Wednesday.
A representative for Guild Hall told Page Six that it is requiring staff members and performers to be vaccinated or submit negative Covid tests.
Osnes, 35, denied that she was fired and denied that she was offered the option to submit a negative Covid test.
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Osnes wrote in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday that she withdrew when she learned that Guild Hall was requiring vaccinations.
"It was a drama-free and discrete transition," Osnes wrote, rebutting Page Six's reporting that her co-star had "pressed her on the matter."
An option to provide a negative Covid test "was never extended to me," she wrote.
"I would have tested in a heartbeat — something I have been doing for months, and will continue to do, in order to keep working safely," she wrote.
She said she and her husband have not gotten the shots because "there is so much that is still unknown."
"I stand by the decision my husband and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning and our future," she wrote.
"I believe individuals have the right to do the research, consult a doctor and come to their own conclusions before deciding whether or not to get any injection," Osnes continued.
The three vaccines in use in the U.S. — produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — were shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials of tens of thousands of volunteers. Health officials say getting vaccinated against Covid is the best strategy to prevent the virus from causing serious illness or death.
The production, which was to have been held outside, will now be held inside, and guests will also have to provide proof of vaccination, according to Guild Hall's website.
Osnes, who has starred in numerous shows on Broadway, including "Cinderella," has been replaced by Sierra Boggess.
Osnes said she has been involved in several projects during the pandemic that have "navigated production ... carefully and completely Covid-free."
"I say this for myself and so many others, who are concerned about their rights, reputations, and livelihoods being on the line," she wrote.
Broadway cast and crew members are required to be vaccinated, the Actors' Equity Association says.
