General Hospital
ABC to Stand Trial for ‘General Hospital’ Firings During Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate
In a lawsuit filed by two former crew members of General Hospital, ABC will now have to face trial. The crew members are suing ABC on religious discrimination claims after they were fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination.
The Los Angeles judge’s ruling marks the first time there would be a trial over terminations due to the vaccine mandates adopted by major studios during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, in the ruling delivered on Tuesday February 20th, involving ex-GH crew members, James and Timothy Wahl, it is said they may have had “sincerely held” religious beliefs that ABC should have accommodated by affording them exemptions, and allowing them to follow safety protocols implemented before the mandatory vaccine policy was rolled out.

Photo: ABC
This lawsuit began in 2022 when father and son James and Timothy Wahl, who previously worked in the special effects department of General Hospital, sued ABC after their requests for religious exemptions were denied. At the time, it was noted that ABC had uncertainty as to whether their objections to taking the vaccine were based on their Christian faith.
ABC had argued that the Wahls did not have genuine religious beliefs and that, even if they did, it could not have accommodated them without undue hardship. It also claimed that IATSE (union for crew members and behind the scenes personnel) waived any rights members had to object to mandatory vaccination policies.

Photo: JPI
In the summary judgment, the Los Angeles court came to the conclusion that ABC may have actually discriminated against the Wahls on the basis of their religion by failing to find a workaround situation for them when they refused to be vaccinated.
Unlike the case of Ingo Rademacher (ex-Jasper Jacks), in which the former General Hospital lost his lawsuit, the court noted that workarounds were not possible for actors performing onstage as it required him to work in very close proximity with other cast members without a mask, which could endanger their safety. The case for the Wahls also does not apply to the termination of Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) back in 2021. Burton is now back on the ABC soap opera following the lifting of the mandates.
However, in the case of the Wahls, they worked in the construction and special effects shops for GH, and while they, at times, had to go to “Zone A” of the production, where the cast films, they tested regularly for COVID-19, always wore a mask and did their best to socially distance from the cast.
So, what do you think of the judges ruling that ABC must face religious discrimination claims from two former crew members of General Hospital? Comment below.
Ha ha good!
Could ABC “sue” you for impersonating one of their trademark name characters !!??
Sioux me!
Just say… remember when some OLTL characters went to GH while Prospect Park had the rights to them? Characters names are copyrighted. Google it.
I think Mr. Fairman has a article on it somewhere in his archives.
Get a job
Is than an out dated echo I hear??
It’s your mom calling your spaghetti os are ready.
You do bring shame to a wonderful character name the lovely and talent Kim Zimmer played. You could never compare.
Based on the information provided, it sounds like the crew members followed all safety protocols and did everything that was required of them. What’s the point of having religious or medical exemptions if they aren’t going to be respected by your employer? The fact that it came to people losing their jobs is crazy, especially given that now all mandates have been lifted and COVID is still around. I hope they win this case.
I would like to ask these mortals which “sincerely held religious beliefs” object to vaccines, because I seem to recall pretty much every religion endorsing vaccinations when they first rolled out. Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus. And even the Devil myself.
Don’t remember if the Scientologists took any side officially, but I’m assuming they must have, because Tom Cruise never stopped working.
How about us Nihilists ??? A much easier existence !
Well… Nihilists are pretty much opposed to everything, so at least that would be consistent.
How charming! Who are the unlucky ones you kiss with that mouth?
Wow… what a “sincerely religious” response.
Satan, my apology for this response, but it was mistakenly sent to you somehow. . I don’t remember who it WAS supposed to have been meant for, but as you see it was 5 months ago, and I have the memory span of a Gnat, these days. Hope you can overlook this.
Honestly, I never saw it before now. So no worries. I’m also not sure who I was responding to since the thread is 5 months old. My best guess is that we both responded to a post which is no longer here because it was extremely rude, and probably bigoted, since there were antivaxxers involved.
Now I see another post below where somebody is even accusing me of supporting the MAGAtt bleach drinking “cures” so the entire thread seems to be an exercize in mass confusion
If you want to drink bleach or horse dewormer that’s up to you. But you have no right to possibly give someone else a disease that could possibly kill them – especially babies, those who are immunocompromised, or the elderly. We are still seeing 1500 people a day being hospitalized from this disease. Grow up & be responsible.
How dare you call yourself Satan and yet offer a solid, morally correct and logical take on vaccinations?
Like the mean-spirited comments posted under the name of “echo desavoy”, these are just regular plain folk who type on keyboards and hide behind comical names.
Sadly, this site had lost all the class it once had, well except for “Satan”, his comments are hilarious and do entertain. Can’t say the same for “echo desavoy” !
Satan always plays a good game of understood humor. Just like the soaps themselves, Don’t allow yourself to read to much into comments. Just laugh them off and carry on.
I am unaware of any Christian denomination that objects to vaccines. In fact, from what I remember, many different faith communities sponsored vaccination events at their houses of worship. I am no supporter of the alphabet network or the mouse company, but from what has been reported, it sounds like this lawsuit doesn’t hold water.
The religious excuse is such bs.
While I’m immediately skeptical when I read about “religious” objections to vaccines, I do wonder if there are (very limited) religious denominations that actually do object–for example, Christian Scientists. As I recall, they don’t do things like blood transfusions from other people (I think they can store up their own blood if they need it for an operation, but I could be wrong about that); anybody here know Christian Scientists’ stance on vaccines (ALL vaccines, not just the Covid one)? What about the Amish and similar groups that eschew many of the modern conveniences we take for granted?
I won’t prejudge, but it does sound as though because they worked behind the scenes and could do their jobs in more isolation, these two workers might have had a stronger case than Steve Burton and A-Dingo-Ate-My-Lawsuit. I’ll be interested to see how it plays out.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Jonathan Bennett Receives 3 ‘Critics Choice Real TV Awards’ Nominations for Hallmark Series, ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’
Many things are coming up roses for Jonathan Bennett! On the heels of the news that he is set to debut this month in the role of Joe Fitzpatrick on General Hospital, who is rumored to be a new love interest for Lucas Jones (Van Hansis), comes the news that Bennett’s reality series, Finding Mr. Christmas has received 3 nomination for the Critics Choice Real TV Awards.
Bennett’s Hallmark Channel series finds itself in tough competition alongside fellow nominees: RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV), Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix), Survivor 50 (CBS), Top Chef (Bravo) and The Traitors (Peacock). In addition, Jonathan himself is nominated for Best Show Host and the series participants as the Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series.
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) revealed the nominees for the eighth annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards on Thursday, which recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Winners will be announced online at CriticsChoice.com on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET.

Photo: Hallmark
Taking to his Instagram to celebrate the nominations, GH’s Bennett, enthused, “3 Critic Choice Nominations! I’m so proud of the FINDING MR CHRISTMAS and to be in the company of all the legends in all these categories is so surreal! Congrats to Hallmark Channel and to our nominated cast and nominated show and everyone who made this magical show possible. This is crazy! This gives FMC 6 Critics Choice nominations in 2 years. Not bad for a little show on Hallmark Channel. What are your thoughts on our show?” Jumping first into the comment thread was one of his new GH co-stars, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) who expressed, “Yeah buddy!!!🔥🔥”
In the series, Bennett, the host and co-creator spends eight weeks guiding 10 aspiring actors through a series of “festive face-offs” and acting challenges alongside actors like soap opera notables, Hunter King (ex-Summer, Y&R) and Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS). Along the way, they develop their skills and a bond with one another. The show, which is available on Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Plus, highlights LGBTQ+ representation with openly gay contestants vying to be the next Hallmark star.
It should be noted that Traitors received the most Critics Choice Real TV Award nominations with 6 nods, followed by Dancing with the Stars with 4.
Bennett is very familiar to daytime fans having started his career as JR Chandler on All My Children in 2000-2001, before landing the part of Aaron Samuels in the motion picture, Mean Girls in 2004 starring Lindsay Lohan, which would become his breakout performance.
You can check out the full list of Critics Choice Real TV Award nominations here.
So, excited for Jonathan Bennett’s General Hospital debut this month? Have you ever watched Finding Mr. Christmas on Hallmark? Let us know via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Kelly Thiebaud on Britt and Cassius Sibling Drama, But Who Will Ultimately Blow His Cover?
On the April 30 episode of General Hospital, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) had some choice words and warning for her brother Cassius Faison (Ryan Paevey) who has been masquerading as his twin, the very dead, Nathan West.
As the story has unfolded, viewers learned that Britt knew all along that when “Nathan” showed up in Port Charles seemingly resurrected with a missing 7 years of his life unexplained, that Cassius was taking his place.
Now in developments on today’s GH, Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) is figuring out that this guy pretending to be Nathan is someone else, and Cassius learns from Britt, that Joss is not just a ditzy sorority girl as he claimed, but a WSB agent! The moment stuns Cassius. Are the walls about to close in on him and his charade?

Courtesy/ABC
Daytime Emmy winner, Kelly Thiebaud spoke to Soap Opera Digest, about the story point and getting the opportunity this time back at GH to work with Ryan Paevey, when she hadn’t had the chance to before.
BROTHERLY LOVE?
Thiebaud expressed on sharing scenes with Ryan Paevey, “It’s just been so wonderful to have him back and to actually work with him! When he first came onto the show (as Nathan at the end of 2013) I was kind of heading out — it was right towards the end of my contract, so we didn’t actually work together a ton. It’s been really refreshing and so much fun to really spend time together and get to know each other and work together. I think we have really great on-camera chemistry and banter with each other. I really enjoy working with him.”
With the stakes at an all-time, Thiebaud explained how she views her on-screen alter-ego’s involvement with her more hot-to-temper sibling and why Britt revealed the truth about Josslyn to him. “People finding out about Cassius would expose what she’s involved in and what she agreed to do,” explains Kelly “And now Josslyn is digging around, and she’s connected to Carly (Laura Wright) to Jason (Steve Burton) and that whole dynamic! It’s messy!”
BRITT’S MURKY FUTURE
Britt has currently also reached her breaking point with Jason being carted away by the WSB, Rocco (Finn Carr), the child she gave birth to, shooting Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) to protect her and Jason, Marco (Adrian Anchondo) being killed after trying to help her, and Cullum holding over her head getting her Huntington’s disease medication to control her symptoms, while blackmailing her into finishing the research on her father, Cesar Faison’s, final project. Thiebaud summed it up best for Britt right now, sharing, “It’s been a really tough time for her.”
So, who do you think will be the person to blow Cassius’ cover? Will it be Britt herself? Josslyn? Liesl? Brennan? Nina? Lulu? Rocco, Maxie, Cullum or someone else? Let us know your pick in the comment section.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Michael Reveals His Plan to Set Up Chase and Willow to Have an Affair
After the Wednesday, April 29 episode of General Hospital, it’s clear outside interference and other circumstances are set to blow Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn’s (Amanda Setton) marriage sky high, as Michael (Rory Gibson) reveals his plans to entrap Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and use her relationship with Chase to do it!
In story, Michael dropped by unexpectedly to Carly’s (Laura Wright). A plotting Michael reveals his plan to nudge Willow and Chase into having an affair. Michael hopes it would create both a political and personal scandal, where Willow would lose her seat in congress. In the scenario, she would be having an affair with her ex-husband, while taking care of her supposed disabled husband, Drew (Cameron Mathison), who cannot speak and is confined to a wheelchair, which in turn will look horrible for Willow’s character.
Carly asked does he really want to destroy his cousin, Brook Lynn’s life in the process? Michael goes in on Chase’s holier than thou attitude, and says he is going to set-up the circumstances that would lead Chase and Willow to betray their spouses, and hit the sheets together. Michael swears to Carly what the two of them do is up to them, but he’s going to go on the offense with this.
MICHAEL HAS BACK-UP
Later, Jacinda (Paige Herschell) is talking with Charlotte (Bluesy Burke) at Crimson and how much she dislikes Willow because of what she has done to Michael. Just then, Michael shows up and tells Jacinda privately, he’s figured out a way to fight Willow. Looks like Jacinda might work with Michael to bring down Willow and use Chase as the person to do it!
At the hospital, Lucas (Van Hansis) tells Josslyn (Eden McCoy) that Carly is cheating on Jack, but he doesn’t know with who. Josslyn suddenly flashes back to the moment she found her mother harboring a fugitive, Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart), in her attic, and as figured out that her mother is sleeping with him. She heads out.

Courtesy/ABC
BRENNAN IS ABOUT TO LEARN ABOUT CARLY
Next thing you know, Josslyn has showed up inside Jack’s (Chris McKenna) hotel room at the Metro Court and when he enters his room, he is shocked to find her there. He lays into her for not keeping his distance and that Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) will have no problem killing her if he knows she’s WSB. Josslyn fires back that he is only concerned about that because his relationship with her mother depends on her being safe. But then, she lays the boom, and tells Jack, Well, you’re too late. You already lost her.”
LULU GETS A GLIMPSE OF CASSIUS’ TEMPER
In addition, Lulu (Alexa Havins) sees a different side of “Nathan.” Since she is unaware that the man before her is his twin, Cassius Fasion (Ryan Paevey), he tells her that Rocco (Finn Carr) blabbed that he shot Cullum to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), and now he thinks they should send him away to stop him from talking to everyone else. This concerns Lulu, who rails at Nathan for telling her what to do with her son and that she isn’t going to abandon him. With “Nathan’s” outburst at her on the matter, will she finally get a clue this is not the man she thinks it is?
So, what do you think of Michael’s plan to push Willow and Chase into an affair? Will it work or backfire? Do you think Joss will reveal that Valentin is the man sleeping with Carly to Brennan, which will send him in a rage? Will Lulu continue to be clueless about “Nathan?” Weigh-in via the comment section below. But first, take a look at the GH video tease for today’s April 30 episode.
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