Ingo Rademacher Demands Trial After 'General Hospital' Firing By ABC

Ingo Rademacher is urging the court to reopen his lawsuit against ABC following his dismissal from "General Hospital," claiming newly discovered evidence warrants further review.

The 53-year-old actor filed a motion arguing that fresh details have come to light, which he believes should be considered by the judge. Rademacher initially filed the lawsuit against ABC's vaccine mandate, which was implemented during the pandemic.

Ingo Rademacher alleged that his refusal to comply with the mandate led to his termination after 25 years on the iconic soap opera.

According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Rademacher accused the network of religious discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, and violation of his right to privacy. ABC, however, denied all allegations, maintaining that the decision to terminate Rademacher was based on health and safety protocols rather than religious discrimination.

Interestingly, Steve Burton, Rademacher’s former "General Hospital" co-star, was also fired under similar circumstances for refusing to follow the network’s mandate. However, Rademacher noted in his latest motion that Burton was rehired by the show in January, raising further questions about the consistency of ABC’s policies.

In June 2023, ABC successfully defeated Rademacher’s lawsuit, but the actor filed an appeal shortly after. Now, with his latest motion, he hopes to have his case revisited in court.

In a recent motion for a new trial, Rademacher's legal team claims that ABC's decision to rehire Burton contradicts the network's earlier arguments regarding Rademacher's firing from "General Hospital."

Rademacher’s lawyer stated in court documents that "ABC’s re-hiring of Mr. Burton undermines its argument that Ingo’s political beliefs did not play any role in its decision to fire him—to ‘recast’ his role—in 2021."

According to Rademacher, he uncovered emails and text messages from "General Hospital" producers criticizing him for his political beliefs. Despite this, the judge dismissed these claims during the initial trial.

The motion points out that Judge Goorvitch accepted ABC’s defense, which claimed that the producers' political bias against Rademacher was irrelevant because the network had to enforce its COVID-19 vaccination policy equally, leading to both Rademacher and Burton's terminations.

“That argument was always specious. But it carries even less weight now, given the newly discovered evidence that ABC re-hired [Steve] for 'General Hospital' but did not re-hire Ingo,” Rademacher’s lawyer argued.

The legal team went on to say, “This new evidence is compelling. It undermines ABC’s argument that the political animus the GH producers showed toward Ingo did not matter. It confirms Ingo’s argument that ABC intended to get rid of him—to recast his character—which preceded the COVID vaccination policy. It is additional evidence from which a jury could disbelieve ABC’s explanation and rule in Ingo’s favor.”

“As the new year dawns, the Court should take this opportunity to grant a new trial based on the newly discovered evidence regarding ABC’s re-hiring of [Steve] and set the case for a jury trial on the wrongful termination claim.”

Further arguing that, “The evidence of [Steve’s] rehiring, but not Ingo’s, should change the court’s summary judgment ruling. It confirms that, contrary to ABC’s argument, it was not judge Ingo’s vaccination status that mattered. It was him: his political beliefs and his political commentary. That is why, unlike [Steve], ABC will never re-hire him for ['General Hospital'].”

In his recent motion for a new trial, Rademacher, known for his long-running role as Jasper 'Jax' Jacks on "General Hospital," detailed the events leading up to his dismissal and the alleged bias he faced from producers.

Rademacher stated that in 2018, he signed a three-year contract with ABC after a brief hiatus from the show. According to the agreement, he was set to earn $2,900 per episode in the first year, $3,100 in the second year, and $3,300 in the third year. The deal was officially signed in February 2019.

However, tensions reportedly escalated during the 2020 U.S. presidential election when Rademacher publicly voiced his support for Donald Trump. He alleges that producers privately criticized his political views in emails and text messages, and shortly after, his storylines began to diminish.

Rademacher claims that despite presenting these communications as evidence, the judge ruled that the texts discussing his political views were irrelevant, primarily because Burton—another "General Hospital" actor who similarly refused the COVID-19 vaccine—was also terminated.

This latest motion argues that the reinstatement of Burton undermines ABC's defense and highlights a double standard in their reasoning for Rademacher's firing. The court’s response to this new evidence could play a crucial role in determining whether Rademacher’s claims move forward in a retrial.