A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has denied a motion by former “General Hospital” star Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jasper “Jax” Jacks) to have his wrongful termination lawsuit revived against ABC.
As previously reported, back in November 2024, Rademacher had sought to have his previously dismissed case against the network 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Burton (Jason Morgan) despite both actors previously being let go in 2021 due to their non-compliance with the since-rescinded vaccine mandate by ABC parent The Walt Disney Company.
Judge Stephen Goorvitch ruled on Rademacher’s lawsuit in June 2023, siding with ABC, wherein he indicated that Rademacher’s opposition [to getting vaccinated] was “based on health reasons rather than his religious leanings.”
According to court documents obtained by In Touch Weekly, the judge denied Rademacher’s new motion on Tuesday, February 25, determining that ABC’s decision in rehiring Burton does not indicate the fired actor was terminated for his political beliefs, and further, Rademacher would have to file a new lawsuit if he wanted to raise such an argument in court. Additionally, the motion for a trial was denied.
Christine Bartolucci/Disney
In January 2024, ABC announced that it had rehired Burton to reprise the role of Jason Morgan on the daytime drama series, with his return appearance on screen taking place in the March 4, 2024 episode of the series.
In opposition to Rademacher’s motion, lawyers for ABC said Burton was rehired “years after the end of the COVID-19 global health emergency and at a time when [the network’s] vaccine mandate was no longer in effect. Thus, his rehiring has no logical impact on [Ingo’s] claims.”
The lawyer representing Rademacher previously stated that new evidence provided “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.”
They also noted, “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.”
Other forms of evidence cited by Rademacher’s attorneys include alleged text messages from producers of the soap opera where the actor was referred to as an “ignorant racist” and a “nut.”
“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 lawyer in their filing last fall. The court had previously denied Rademacher’s request to reopen discovery at a prior hearing.
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.
