General Hospital's Ingo Rademacher is slamming fans who have called for his firing over his vaccination criticism.
The 50-year-old actor, who's played Jasper "Jax" Jacks on the soap opera since 1996, took to social media to address those behind a #FireIngo campaign. It stemmed from Rademacher promoting an anti-vaccination passport rally on social media — and criticizing the vaccine. Meanwhile, his co-star Steve Burton recently contracted COVID after being exposed on the set of the ABC show — while Nancy Lee Grahn publicly expressed worry about sharing scenes with "unmasked, unvaccinated actors."
Rademacher said in a video shared to social media Wednesday that he wanted to "address all of the morons" behind the hashtag, telling them, "I dislike you... I think you're bigots and I think you know it. To do something like that to another person just shows the kind of character you have... You're a horrible, horrible person."
He went on to make his case for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine — despite the CDC stating that vaccines are effective at keeping people from getting the virus as well as from getting seriously ill if they get it. (Instagram added a label to his posts with a link to its COVID-19 Information Center with resources.)
In the video and the caption on his post, he wrote, "Mandating any vaccine is wrong but especially one that doesn’t help stop the spread, that’s nothing short of crazy talk. If you want to take the vaccine, take it. Just know you’re doing it for yourself, not to save anyone else. You’re not a hero."
He also suggested his fans start a new hashtag: #ApologizetoIngo and ended by telling those who called for his firing that they are "dragging down the human race" and should "take a long hard look at [yourselves]."
This all blew up earlier this month following Burton, 51, testing positive, saying he was "exposed at work." He said he was asymptomatic and felt fine.
The day before, Grahn, 65, expressed worry to SAG-AFTRA about working "on a set with unmasked, unvaccinated actors," calling on the union to address the problem.
Soon after, Rademacher's post spotlighting an anti-vaccine passport rally was circulated.
Also, a 2008 interview the father of three did with People magazine, about not vaccinating his eldest child when he was born was resurfaced. In it, Rademacher said he and his wife found a pediatrician who respected their vaccine stance. He said the doctor was "not against every vaccine, but definitely when they’re babies, he’s not into vaccines. He’ll do them if you want them, but he’s not going to abuse you if you don’t want them." He said the child, named Peanut, "will probably get some later on in life… but I can’t imagine putting a needle in his body right now.”
Showbiz411's story this week — “General Hospital” Star Ingo Rademacher Is Against Vaccines: Did He Cause Other Actors on Set to be Infected with COVID-19? — caught the ire of the star, who responded to what he called a "cesspool of cyberbullying."
Rademacher, who welcomed his third child, ‘Iwa, in June, responded in several videos, saying he is against vaccine mandates. He then shared a statement he gave his publicist for the press that said, in part: "My post was not anti-vaccine passport/mandate. If you want to get the vaccine because you have a fear of dying from this virus, talk to your doctor and decide."
A General Hospital spokesperson has not responded to Yahoo Entertainment's request for comment on the topic.
