ARTICLE: Citing Decision to Rehire Steve Burton, Former ‘General Hospital’ Star Ingo Rademacher Submits New Evidence in Appeal to Lawsuit Against ABC - REPORT
Former “General Hospital” star Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jasper “Jax” Jacks) is reportedly seeking to have his since dismissed wrongful termination lawsuit against ABC reopened, citing the network’s decision to rehire Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) despite both actors previously being let go in 2021 due to their non-compliance over the since rescinded vaccine mandate.
In June 2023, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch, ruled on Rademacher’s lawsuit, siding with ABC wherein he indicated that Rademacher’s opposition [to getting vaccinated] was “based on health reasons rather than his religious leanings.”
During the summer of 2021, just before Disney (parent of ABC) mandated that all employees be vaccinated or else face termination, Rademacher had been vocal on social media about his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine in particular while clarifying he was not against vaccines themselves.
In an August 2021 post, Rademacher said, “If you want to get the vaccine because you have a fear of dying from this virus, talk to your doctor and decide. This is about freedom to choose what’s best for you. A huge percentage of our population have already recovered from COVID and have natural immunity, why does that not count? Please let that sink in. Taking the vaccine does not stop you from getting COVID, spreading it, or dying from it. Now would be a good time to be honest and start following the science.”
Since the June 2023 decision, Rademacher has filed an appeal with the court, asking for a review of the case as he believes that new evidence will support his claims, specifically that he lost his job due to religious discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and violation of his right to privacy. ABC continues to deny any wrongdoing.
According to court documents obtained by InTouch Weekly, Rademacher has filed a new motion with the court, asking for ABC to fix a paperwork issue that is necessary for him to continue with his appeal. Additionally, he’s asking the court to reopen summary judgment proceedings, citing new evidence that “provides compelling support for his political discrimination claim: namely, evidence that ABC rehired Steve Burton, the other ‘General Hospital’ actor it let go supposedly because of its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.”
Lawyers for Rademacher state, “ABC’s rehiring of Mr. Burton, which occurred while this case was on appeal confirms that ABC got rid of Ingo because it did not like his political views. It confirms that ABC did not merely lay Ingo off, with the intent of bringing him back later, as it did with [Steve]. It re-cast his role. It replaced him, or is in the process of replacing him, with another actor.”
http://www.soapoperanetwork.com/media/2024/09/General-Hospital-Burton-Wilson-1024x640.jpgSteve Burton, Sawandi Wilson Christine Bartolucci/Disney
Additional evidence cited by Rademacher includes alleged documents produced during the discovery period wherein ABC allegedly had plans to terminate his contract as early as the summer of 2021, around the time the actor began amplifying his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine and mandates. Further, text messages from producers calling the actor an “ignorant racist” and “nut” were submitted.
“These text messages related to social media posts that Ingo made during the key period in this case, when the ‘General Hospital’ writers supposedly ran out of ideas for his character,” said Rademacher’s lawyers in their filing. “
As for Burton, Rademacher’s appeal claims ABC rehired the actor despite his refusal to get the COVID-19 shot, noting, “But unlike Ingo, ABC did not have any political animus toward [Steve]. It did not talk about ‘recasting’ his character during 2021.”
Claiming to have compelling evidence, Rademacher’s lawyers point out that “ABC’s counsel argued that the politically motivated text messages ‘General Hospital’ producers sent to each other were irrelevant because, as with [Steve], ABC said it let Ingo go due to the COVID-19 vaccine policy. If so, then ABC should also have re-hired Ingo by now. It has not done that, and it won’t do that, because ABC had already decided to get rid of Ingo, to ‘recast’; his character, because of his political beliefs. ABC opposed Ingo’s ex parte application. The network argued Steve’s rehiring was ‘is completely irrelevant and raises no triable issue of fact in this case.”
InTouch Weekly notes that the court had denied Rademacher’s request to reopen discovery at a recent hearing. Meanwhile, his appeal is ongoing.
Rademacher first joined the cast of “General Hospital” as Jasper “Jax” Jacks in 1996, originating the role of a rich Australian businessman who found himself enamored with Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil). The character continued to appear off and on until November 2021, when Rademacher made his final appearance on the daytime soap opera.
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Former “General Hospital” star Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jasper “Jax” Jacks) is reportedly seeking to have his since dismissed wrongful termination lawsuit against ABC reopened, citing the network’s decision to rehire Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) despite both actors previously being let go in 2021 due to their non-compliance over the since rescinded vaccine mandate.
In June 2023, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch, ruled on Rademacher’s lawsuit, siding with ABC wherein he indicated that Rademacher’s opposition [to getting vaccinated] was “based on health reasons rather than his religious leanings.”
During the summer of 2021, just before Disney (parent of ABC) mandated that all employees be vaccinated or else face termination, Rademacher had been vocal on social media about his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine in particular while clarifying he was not against vaccines themselves.
In an August 2021 post, Rademacher said, “If you want to get the vaccine because you have a fear of dying from this virus, talk to your doctor and decide. This is about freedom to choose what’s best for you. A huge percentage of our population have already recovered from COVID and have natural immunity, why does that not count? Please let that sink in. Taking the vaccine does not stop you from getting COVID, spreading it, or dying from it. Now would be a good time to be honest and start following the science.”
Since the June 2023 decision, Rademacher has filed an appeal with the court, asking for a review of the case as he believes that new evidence will support his claims, specifically that he lost his job due to religious discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and violation of his right to privacy. ABC continues to deny any wrongdoing.
According to court documents obtained by InTouch Weekly, Rademacher has filed a new motion with the court, asking for ABC to fix a paperwork issue that is necessary for him to continue with his appeal. Additionally, he’s asking the court to reopen summary judgment proceedings, citing new evidence that “provides compelling support for his political discrimination claim: namely, evidence that ABC rehired Steve Burton, the other ‘General Hospital’ actor it let go supposedly because of its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.”
Lawyers for Rademacher state, “ABC’s rehiring of Mr. Burton, which occurred while this case was on appeal confirms that ABC got rid of Ingo because it did not like his political views. It confirms that ABC did not merely lay Ingo off, with the intent of bringing him back later, as it did with [Steve]. It re-cast his role. It replaced him, or is in the process of replacing him, with another actor.”
Christine Bartolucci/Disney
Additional evidence cited by Rademacher includes alleged documents produced during the discovery period wherein ABC allegedly had plans to terminate his contract as early as the summer of 2021, around the time the actor began amplifying his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine and mandates. Further, text messages from producers calling the actor an “ignorant racist” and “nut” were submitted.
“These text messages related to social media posts that Ingo made during the key period in this case, when the ‘General Hospital’ writers supposedly ran out of ideas for his character,” said Rademacher’s lawyers in their filing. “
As for Burton, Rademacher’s appeal claims ABC rehired the actor despite his refusal to get the COVID-19 shot, noting, “But unlike Ingo, ABC did not have any political animus toward [Steve]. It did not talk about ‘recasting’ his character during 2021.”
Claiming to have compelling evidence, Rademacher’s lawyers point out that “ABC’s counsel argued that the politically motivated text messages ‘General Hospital’ producers sent to each other were irrelevant because, as with [Steve], ABC said it let Ingo go due to the COVID-19 vaccine policy. If so, then ABC should also have re-hired Ingo by now. It has not done that, and it won’t do that, because ABC had already decided to get rid of Ingo, to ‘recast’; his character, because of his political beliefs. ABC opposed Ingo’s ex parte application. The network argued Steve’s rehiring was ‘is completely irrelevant and raises no triable issue of fact in this case.”
InTouch Weekly notes that the court had denied Rademacher’s request to reopen discovery at a recent hearing. Meanwhile, his appeal is ongoing.
Rademacher first joined the cast of “General Hospital” as Jasper “Jax” Jacks in 1996, originating the role of a rich Australian businessman who found himself enamored with Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil). The character continued to appear off and on until November 2021, when Rademacher made his final appearance on the daytime soap opera.
Note: The post Citing Decision to Rehire Steve Burton, Former ‘General Hospital’ Star Ingo Rademacher Submits New Evidence in Appeal to Lawsuit Against ABC appeared first on the Soap Opera Network website.
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