Ex-General Hospital cast-member Ingo Rademacher has recently called to reopen his dismissed lawsuit against ABC claiming he was wrongly terminated. The actor has recently named a former co-star during the appeal. The actor’s legal team claims evidence suggest another reason why the actor could have been terminated.
A Judge Previously Ruled In Favor Of ABC
Rademacher is a West German-born Australian actor who became known for playing Jasper “Jax” Jacks on General Hospital. In addition to this, he is also known for competing on Dancing with the Stars and for playing Thorne Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.
After his last appearance on the show in 2016, it was announced Rademacher would rejoin General Hospital in 2019. However, by 2021, it was reported that he would be leaving the soap after refusing the production’s vaccine mandate. Rademacher initially attempted to sue, but a judge found in favor of ABC in 2023.
According to In Touch Weekly, court documents claim that the actor has asked the court to reopen the case and review new evidence. Rademacher claimed he asked ABC to be exempted due to religious reasons, which was denied.
The actor then claimed that his firing violates his right to privacy. However, the network claimed Rademacher’s reasons were instead health related.
With his new motion, Rademacher asked the court to have the network fix a paperwork issue that will help him with his appeal. He is also asking the court to consider new evidence which he feels “provides compelling support for his political discrimination claim.”
As the motion reads, this “evidence” involves another actor. The motion highlights “that ABC rehired Steve Burton, the other General Hospital actor it let go supposedly because of its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.”
Ingo Rademacher’s Legal Team Highlighted A Few Instagram Posts
Rademacher’s lawyer noted, “ABC’s rehiring of Mr. Burton…confirms that ABC got rid of Ingo because it did not like his political views.” It was also noted the rehiring “occurred while this case was on appeal.”
As the claim continued, “It confirms that ABC did not merely lay Ingo off, with the intent of bringing him back later, as it did with [Steve].” The lawyer added, “It re-cast his role. It replaced him, or is in the process of replacing him, with another actor.”
Rademacher also claims ABC’s documents show his termination, which took place in the summer of 2021, allegedly took place before the vaccine policy was issued. The actor also alleged that these messages showed that one of his political Instagram posts was shared by the producers.
One producer was also alleged to have written, “Ready for a recast!” Another producer allegedly replied with a “Yup.”
The lawyer also claimed that this came out when the “writers supposedly ran out of ideas for his character.” He continued, “But unlike Ingo, ABC did not have any political animus toward [Steve].” The lawyer continued, “It did not talk about “recasting” his character during 2021.”
The network has countered that Burton’s was “completely irrelevant and raises no triable issue of fact in this case.” At this time, the court denied Rademacher’s request to reopen with a recent hearing. The actor’s appeal, however, is believed to still be ongoing.
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