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Ingo Rademacher told his followers on Instagram that he faced “mental health issues” after being “ousted” from General Hospital “for my political opinions.”
In an Instagram post featuring a photo of Rademacher in an ice bath, the former soap opera actor said he “really identified with my character on General Hospital for decades and I could have been there and I ‘would have stayed there for many more decades to come.’ Rachemacher played Jasper “Jax” Jacks in General Hospital since 1996.
That all changed in 2021 when Rademacher — a vocal critic of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and mandates — refused to get the mandatory shot and was written out of the ABC drama as a result. Shortly after, the actor slammed the Disney-owned network with a sweeping civil rights lawsuit on constitutional grounds. At the time, Disney had one of the strictest vaccination mandates of any Hollywood studio and most major corporations.
The lawsuit was resolved in June when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge agree with ABC in that the actor’s opposition to the vaccine was based on health reasons rather than his religious leanings.
Rademacher told his supporters he was appealing.
“I’m doing much better now but the first year was tough,” Rademacher wrote on IG.
Read his full statement below.
