‘General Hospital’ Actor Ingo Rademacher Sues ABC Over ‘Blatantly Unlawful’ Vaccine Mandate

Actor Ingo Rademacher arrives at the premiere of Summit Entertainment's "Alex Cross" at the Arclight Theater in Los Angeles, California on Oct. 15, 2012. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

General Hospital star Ingo Rademacher is suing ABC over its “blatantly unlawful” actions after he was fired from the show for failing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the law firm of JW Howard Attorneys on Monday, lawyers for Rademacher claim he requested a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate in October but that ABC refused his request just a month later.

“General Hospital” is filmed in Hollywood, California, and in November, a vaccine mandate went into effect for actors and staff working on “Zone A,” which comprises of those present on set when the actors aren’t wearing masks, and the actors themselves, Variety reported.

Rademacher, in an Oct. 11 email to Disney’s HR department, claimed that he was entitled to a religious exemption against the mandatory vaccine due to his “deeply and sincerely held moral belief that my body is endowed by my creator with natural processes to protect me and that its natural integrity cannot ethically be violated by the administration of artificially created copies of genetic material, foreign to nature and experimental.”

According to Rademacher’s lawyers, after he filed the request for a religious exemption, the network subjected the actor to “half an hour of cross-examination about his religious beliefs and then denied his exemption request without explanation.”

“ABC’s actions are blatantly unlawful,” the complaint states. “ABC does not have the authority to force a medical treatment to its employees against their will. Even if it did, it must offer religious exceptions to the forced treatment to anybody who requests it. These actions constitute religious discrimination and violate Mr. Rademacher’s rights under state and federal law.”

The complaint adds that Rademacher, who played Jasper “Jax” Jacks on the show, also has the right to “information privacy”, and claims that this too was violated by the network when the star was made to disclose personal information to continue working on the show.

“This should not be a political issue. There is no need for everybody to get the COVID-19 shot, even if the president demands it,” lawyers wrote. “Furthermore, Mr. Rademacher has a right to privacy and a right to object to compulsory medical treatment based on his sincere religious beliefs. Lawsuits decided a hundred years ago do not change that.”

Attorneys for Rademacher claim he has suffered up to $25,000 in damages after his contract with ABC was terminated, and they are seeking compensatory damages for the loss. Rademacher also wants ABC’s COVID-19 mandate declared “unconstitutional.”

The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson for ABC for comment.

A 2010 file image of Laura Wright and Ingo Rademacher in a scene of ABC’s “General Hospital”. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for DATG

Rademacher’s lawsuit comes after another “General Hospital,” star, Steve Burton, claimed in November that he had been fired from the show for failing to get vaccinated.

The actor, who first joined the soap series in 1992, said he had applied for medical and religious exemptions to the vaccine mandate but both had been denied.

In a video posted to Instagram, Burton explained, “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 people 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, so I’ll always be grateful, and I believe that when one door closes, multiple doors open. That’s always been my perspective,” Burton continued.