Laura Osnes, the Minnesota native and theater star who has played princesses and other leading ladies on Broadway, is denying that she was fired from a glitzy East Hampton, New York, benefit concert because she was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Instead, Osnes said, she withdrew.
Osnes also confirmed that she is an anti-vaxxer.
In an Instagram post Monday, Osnes said that she pulled out of the production of "Crazy for You," to be held Aug. 29, because vaccine "protocols had changed, and I would now need proof of vaccination to participate. I was disappointed but responded that I would have to withdraw, as I have not yet gotten the vaccine."
She went on to say: "It is also important to clarify that none of my fellow performers ever 'pressed me on the matter' before I withdrew."
Her post was in response to a report in the New York Post last week that "she immediately got the hook" because of her anti-vaccine stance. In her post, the two-time Tony nominee and star of the revival of Broadway's "Cinderella" doubled down.
"I stand by the decision my husband and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning and our future," Osnes wrote. "There is so much that is still unknown. Someday, perhaps we will feel more confident in the research to consider a different position."
Her position could make it hard to have a stage career in New York City for the next few months, at least. In July, Broadway League, the trade association for the Broadway industry, stipulated that all performers, audience members and staff at Broadway theaters must be vaccinated. The requirement is in effect through October.
In addition to headlining "Cinderella," for which she nabbed a Tony nomination, Osnes starred in "Bonnie and Clyde," which garnered her first Tony nomination. She also headlined in such productions as "South Pacific" and "Anything Goes."
Osnes, who performed at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, made her Broadway debut as Sandy in "Grease."
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