Fired 'General Hospital' Actor Draws Backlash For Transphobic Tweet
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Actor Ingo Rademacher has been fired from “General Hospital” after reportedly refusing to comply with the long-running soap opera’s vaccine mandate. News of his dismissal came just a day after he shared a transphobic tweet on social media.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of Rademacher’s firing Monday, noting that his final “General Hospital” episode will air on Nov. 22. According to THR’s report, the actor ended his association with the show prior to the announcement on Sunday and repeatedly spoke out against vaccine mandates. Over the weekend, he pledged to “fight for medical freedom” in a caption accompanying an Instagram post.
Rademacher also shared a tweet on Sunday of Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, the nation’s first openly transgender four-star officer and federal official confirmed by the Senate, and Virginia’s lieutenant governor-elect Winsome Sears, a Republican who will be the first Black woman to hold the position.
The caption of the image reportedly read: “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.”
Rademacher’s post, which appeared on his Instagram Stories, was not cited as a reason for his firing in any of the subsequent reports. However, fellow “General Hospital” star Cassandra James, who is trans, said her co-star had “some serious unlearning and education to do” in a series of tweets.
“Misgendering trans folks is violence and if you come for one of us, you come for all of us,” she wrote.
I am 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.
— Cassandra James (@cassandrajames_) November 8, 2021
Misgendering trans folks is violence and if you come for one of us, you come for all of us. The cis world doesn’t get to decide which of us is valuable. I am so proud of the fans for always holding us to a high standard, for calling out transphobia and violence.
— Cassandra James (@cassandrajames_) November 8, 2021
On Monday, Rademacher attempted to apologize to James in a short video posted to Instagram, but nonetheless doubled down on his transphobic stance.
“I don’t think that it’s OK to call a transgender an empowered woman,” he said in the clip. “Where does that leave women? Women have fought so hard to get on a level playing field with men. They weren’t allowed to do anything back in the day. They were nothing. So I don’t agree with that.”
Directing his remarks at James specifically, he added, “I think you’re an absolute talent, and you’re very beautiful as well. I don’t think a transphobic man would say that.”
Rademacher, who was born in Germany, originated the character of Jasper “Jax” Jacks on “General Hospital” in 1996, and has played him on and off ever since. His other credits include “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “Hawaii Five-0.”
He notably did not address his “General Hospital” departure in his Instagram video, but pledged to “comment on that later.”
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
