General Hospital character Jasper "Jax" Jacks was written off of the ABC soap opera just before Thanksgiving, and while it's been said that portrayer Ingo Rademacher was let go after he refused to comply with the soap's mandatory COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the actor himself stayed silent about his status with the show -- until now.
In a new video posted to his Instagram account, Rademacher confirms that he is no longer a part of the GH family -- an announcement that he wishes he would have been able to make before the news was shared by his longtime cast member Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis).
"Good morning, guys. So, this is my official video to say I'm no longer on the show, which I never got a chance to do," Rademacher shares. "I'm sorry that I didn't put out this video earlier, but this is about thanking you guys, the fans of the show, and also the General Hospital crew and cast. I was on the show for 25 years. They were like my family, a lot of the people there."
Rademacher goes on to say that he's still adjusting to the reality that he's no longer going to be stepping into the shoes of the character he's been playing since 1996.
"I was hoping to play Jax for another 10 or 25 years. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen," he says. "I want to thank you guys for sticking with Jax for 25 years, and I'm sorry I'm not there anymore to play Jax, which is still something that I'm trying to process; it's just kind of crazy."
Rademacher also opens up about his opposition to vaccine mandates in the video, and he concludes with a big thank you to his loyal fan base for all their support -- now and during the many years he's been playing Jax.
"I've enjoyed meeting many of you over the years, and I certainly enjoy reading all of your amazing positive comments," the actor shares. "I try to read all the direct messages, as well, so, thank you for that... Some of the comments, I'm just blown away, like, 'Wow, this is great! This is amazing.'"
He continues, "A big thank you to all of you guys. Thank you so much for all of the positive comments. I really, really appreciate it. And thank you so much for supporting me for 25 years, and I'm sorry I'm not there for another 25 years because that would have been a lot of fun."
In conclusion, Rademacher shares that this isn't the last that fans will be hearing from him. "I will have more news later on, but for now, just wanted to thank all of you amazing fans out there... Thank you, guys, so much. I really appreciate it."
Check out Rademacher's full statement below and let us know what you think in our Comments section at the end of the article.
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