Ingo Rademacher loses COVID-19 vaccine lawsuit against ABC after 2021 firing from General Hospital

Ingo Rademacher lost his lawsuit against ABC that he filed in December 2021 over his dismissal from General Hospital after refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

The 52-year-old German-Australian actor sued the network claiming it refused to accommodate his religious objections after it joined other studios in implementing vaccine mandates to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephen Goorvitch issued a brief order on Monday granting summary judgment in favor of ABC’s parent company Disney, according to an article by The Hollywood Reporter.

ABC in its motion seeking summary judgment argued that Rademacher’s opposition to the vaccine was rooted in health concerns rather than his religious beliefs.

Goorvitch considered dueling motions seeking summary judgment after an April 5 hearing and ruled in favor of ABC and against Rademacher, but a detailed ruling has not yet been issued.

Rademacher played Jasper ‘Jax’ Jacks on the ABC soap opera for 25 years and claimed in his lawsuit that he had previously applied for a religious exemption from getting the coronavirus vaccine, after fellow cast member Steve Burton tested positive for COVID in August 2021.

His application for an exemption was denied along with one submitted by Burton by the TV network.

The pair had previously been outspoken opponents of the coronavirus vaccine mandate that was put into effect on part of the set, known as Zone A, in November 2021.

Talk show host Stephen Colbert, 59, roasted Rademacher on his late-night talk show for refusing to get the Covid vaccine.

‘Sorry, buddy, but you have to follow the medical advice – you’re on General Hospital, not General Stuff I Read On Facebook,’ Stephen quipped.

Rademacher in his lawsuit against ABC claimed religious discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and violations of his right to privacy, among other claims.

ABC argued in a motion for summary judgment filed last December that parent company Disney thoroughly vetted requests for vaccine exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

Rademacher in an amended complaint claimed he was entitled to a religious exemption based on his ‘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.’

Soap star: Rademacher played Jasper ‘Jax’ Jacks on the ABC soap opera for 25 years and is shown in a 2021 still

Final episode: The German-Australian actor is shown in his final episode on General Hospital that aired in November 2021

ABC countered that Rademacher’s opposition to getting vaccinated was ‘rooted in health or efficacy concerns’ rather than his religious beliefs.

In his last episode that aired in November 2021, Rademacher’s character Jax made reference to the actor’s real-life situation, saying that he would be returning to Australia after falling out with his surroundings.

‘I’m kind of on the outs with everyone in Port Charles right now,’ the character said.

Fans of the show shed light on the scene, interpreting that the actor had specifically fallen with castmates, including trans actor Cassandra James and Nancy Lee Grahn.

Rademacher played the suave tycoon Jax from 1996 to 2013 and then off-an-on from 2016 to 2021.

He also competed on season 16 of Dancing With The Stars in 2013 and was partnered with pro dancer Kym Johnson, 46.