Will ‘General Hospital’ Re-Hire Steve Burton and Ingo Rademacher?
General Hospital fired actors Steve Burton and Ingo Rademacher for refusing to comply with the production’s COVID-19 vaccination protocols. Rademacher, in fact, is suing ABC’s parent company for his firing. But now, unconfirmed rumors suggest that they’ll soon be back on the canvas.
An unconfirmed rumor suggests Burton and Rademacher will return to ‘General Hospital’
A recent loss in the United States Supreme Court has some General Hospital fans hopeful for a Burton and Rademacher return. According to CNBC, the ruling happened on Jan. 13. At that time, in a 6-3 ruling, the United States Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s “sweeping vaccine mandate” for businesses. The sole exception to the rule is places that accept Medicare or Medicaid as payment (in other words, healthcare facilities).
ABC has not yet responded to the Supreme Court ruling. But in Nov. 2021, Bloomberg reports that Disney World — which is owned by the same parent company as ABC — stopped mandating vaccines for its cast members and employees.
These two rulings are giving General Hospital fans hope for a Burton and Rademacher return. But neither Burton nor Rademacher have, so far, hinted that they were in talks to return to the show.
Rademacher is suing the network
As was previously reported, Rademacher is currently suing ABC’s parent company for his firing from General Hospital. In the suit, the former General Hospital actor claims he’s the victim of religious discrimination. He is also claiming that ABC is violating his civil rights.
“ABC’s actions are blatantly unlawful,” reads his lawsuit. “ABC does not have the authority to force a medical treatment to its employees against their will. These actions constitute religious discrimination and violate Mr. Rademacher’s rights under state and federal law.”
Later on in the lawsuit, which reads more like a tirade, Rademacher blames both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the vaccine mandates and ultimately demands that the Los Angeles Superior Court declare vaccine mandates unconstitutional.
But Burton has ‘no hard feelings’
Steve Burton, however, has a more forgiving approach to his firing from General Hospital. As was previously reported, Burton shared his feelings about his firing on his That’s Awesome with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson podcast. On the podcast, Burton made clear that he was fired from the show. He also said he was “OK” and that “doors were opening” for him despite his firing. And Burton concluded his statement by saying that while he didn’t agree with what General Hospital did, he understands why they did it.
But if fans are waiting for Burton to give an interview, they’ll be waiting a long time.
“I’ve gotten a lot of requests for interviews, but I don’t want to do them,” he said. “I have no interest, dude. Because I don’t want division. That’s the bottom line.”
Bradford Anderson made it clear that he didn’t agree with the General Hospital star’s decision. However, Anderson also said he respects his friend’s decision.
“We’ve been friends for a long time,” he said. “But like all friends, we have disagreements. And I disagree with Steve’s decision. He knows that. But over our years of friendship, we’ve had plenty of discussions about, well, things like this and other topics. And yes, sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. But at the end of the day, we are still friends.”
