“General Hospital” star Steve Burton has become the second actor to walk off the long-running soap’s set over the vaccine mandate.
“I know there’s been a lot of rumors and speculations about me and General Hospital. I wanted you to hear it from me personally,” the 51-year-old actor, who plays Jason Morgan, said in an Instagram video late Tuesday.
“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.”
Representatives for the ABC daytime soap opera did not immediately return a request from the Daily News Wednesday to confirm that Burton had applied for exemptions.
Burton has played Jason Morgan on and off since 1991. On Friday’s episode, his character was buried in a collapsed tunnel after a shootout in Greece, drawing suspicion from fans that he was being written off the show. It’s also possible that Burton will simply be replaced by another actor, as has been done previously.
In mid-August, he tested positive for COVID-19, saying he’d been “exposed at work,” but never specified that it was at “General Hospital.”
“Maybe one day if these mandates are lifted, I can return and finish my career as Jason Morgan. That would be an honor,” Burton said Tuesday.
Burton’s co-star Ingo Rademacher, who frequently posts anti-vax sentiments online, also recently quit the show over the mandate.
———
