Rademacher had been on the soap for 25 years before being fired last month after he refused to get vaccinated.
General Hospital's Ingo Rademacher is suing ABC over the network's vaccine mandate. According new court docs obtained by ET, Rademacher argued that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and amounts to religious discrimination.
Rademacher, who played Jasper “Jax” Jacks, was a staple on the soap for 25 years before being fired last month after refusing to get vaccinated.
According to his lawsuit, Rademacher was looking to get a religious exemption from the mandate, which ABC later rejected.
"I am entitled to a religious exemption against mandatory vaccination for COVID-19 on the basis of my 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," Rademacher wrote in an Oct. 11 email to Disney’s HR department.
In the suit, Rademacher's legal team argues that ABC was required to honor his religious exemption and that questioning his beliefs is akin to religious discrimination. In addition to discriminating against his religion, Rademacher also claims that the vaccine mandate violates his right to privacy,
"This should not be a political issue," the suit states. "There is no need for everybody to get the COVID-19 shot, even if the president demands it."
Rademacher isn't the only General Hospital star to get the boot after refusing to get vaxxed. Steve Burton was also let go from the long-running soap.
Burton took to Instagram last month to confirm rumors that he was fired from the daytime drama over his refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
"I know there's been a lot of rumors and speculation about me and General Hospital, and I wanted you to hear it from me personally," Burton shared in a video posted to his page. "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," Burton continued. "But this is also about personal freedom for me. I don't think anyone should lose their livelihood over this."
Burton added that, despite the disappointment of being let go, "I'll always be grateful for my time at General Hospital. I love it there, I grew up there.... so I'll always be grateful."
Burton, who played Jason Morgan on the soap on-and-off since 1991, went on to share that he'd be open to returning to the show if the vaccine mandate is lifted.
Rademacher shared his support for his co-star in the comments under his video, writing, "Well said my friend. 🙏"
The vaccine mandate, which requires all present on set to be vaccinated, cast and crew included, went into effect on the show Nov. 1.
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