Geno Segers Apologizes After Leaving Broadway’s 'Hadestown' Amid Backlash Over Past Comments
by Chris Tremblay Aug 4
3 MIN READ
Geno Segers has apologized after exiting the Broadway production of 'Hadestown' amid backlash over past remarks concerning transgender people.
In a statement released after the departure was announced, Segers wrote, “To all affected communities, I wish to extend my most sincere apologies to everyone impacted by my words.”
“While I never intended to inflict harm,” he continued, “I recognize that the impact of my statements is what matters most.”
Segers said he was “fully committed to listening, educating myself, and elevating my standards,” and added that he would “work tirelessly to earn the opportunity to make things right.”
The actor also apologized to the musical’s cast, creative team and producers for “the stress” his actions had brought to the production.
“I accept full responsibility for my words and acknowledge the necessity of immediate accountability,” Segers wrote.
He concluded by expressing support for the 'Hadestown' company and the person who will replace him, writing, “I wish you all tremendous success during your run.”
The 'Hadestown' producers and Segers announced on August 2 that they had “mutually agreed” that he would no longer join the Broadway production.
The production’s statement did not provide further details about the decision, saying only that “additional casting will be announced shortly.”
Segers had been scheduled to play Hades, the ruler of the underworld in the musical’s retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, beginning September 1.
His casting was announced in late July as part of a planned set of principal-cast changes for the Broadway production.
Other performers announced for the September company included Norbert Leo Butz as Hermes, Amber Iman as Persephone, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Eurydice and Kayko as Orpheus.
The controversy followed the recirculation of older videos and social-media material attributed to Segers.
BroadwayWorld reported that Segers had posted videos with titles including “TRANS FAIRNESS?” and “NO MORE TRANS,” which were later deleted.
Playbill described the resurfaced material as including rhetoric directed at transgender people and criticism of transgender women participating in women’s sports.
The New York Times reported that clips reviewed by OnStage Blog included Segers discussing transgender people, pronoun usage and his views on whether transgender people experience oppression.
According to The New York Times, one video included comments in which Segers questioned the need for people to ask about his pronouns and compared transgender people with people pretending to be service animals to obtain discounted airfare.
The newspaper reported that the videos appeared to have been deleted or made private after Segers’s 'Hadestown' casting became public, and that the timing of the recordings was unclear.
The specific dates on which the videos were recorded have not been established in the available reporting.
The production did not publicly characterize Segers’s departure as a firing, instead describing the decision as a mutual agreement.
The New York Times reported that the production’s initial announcement did not explain why Segers would not join the cast.
The subsequent apology connected Segers’s own statements to the production’s cast and creative team, but it did not identify specific future educational programs, organizations or other corrective actions.
As of August 4, the production had said that replacement casting would be announced later.
'Hadestown' was scheduled to begin its new principal-cast performances on September 1 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre.
The musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell, follows the intertwined stories of Orpheus and Eurydice while incorporating the mythological figures Hades and Persephone.
The production has not announced whether the change involving Segers will affect the September 1 performance schedule.
Segers’s apology represents his first publicly reported response to the controversy surrounding his planned casting and departure.
“While I never intended to inflict harm,” he continued, “I recognize that the impact of my statements is what matters most.”
Segers said he was “fully committed to listening, educating myself, and elevating my standards,” and added that he would “work tirelessly to earn the opportunity to make things right.”
The actor also apologized to the musical’s cast, creative team and producers for “the stress” his actions had brought to the production.
“I accept full responsibility for my words and acknowledge the necessity of immediate accountability,” Segers wrote.
He concluded by expressing support for the 'Hadestown' company and the person who will replace him, writing, “I wish you all tremendous success during your run.”
Departure From Hadestown
The 'Hadestown' producers and Segers announced on August 2 that they had “mutually agreed” that he would no longer join the Broadway production.
The production’s statement did not provide further details about the decision, saying only that “additional casting will be announced shortly.”
Segers had been scheduled to play Hades, the ruler of the underworld in the musical’s retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, beginning September 1.
His casting was announced in late July as part of a planned set of principal-cast changes for the Broadway production.
Other performers announced for the September company included Norbert Leo Butz as Hermes, Amber Iman as Persephone, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Eurydice and Kayko as Orpheus.
Past Videos Resurface
The controversy followed the recirculation of older videos and social-media material attributed to Segers.
BroadwayWorld reported that Segers had posted videos with titles including “TRANS FAIRNESS?” and “NO MORE TRANS,” which were later deleted.
Playbill described the resurfaced material as including rhetoric directed at transgender people and criticism of transgender women participating in women’s sports.
The New York Times reported that clips reviewed by OnStage Blog included Segers discussing transgender people, pronoun usage and his views on whether transgender people experience oppression.
According to The New York Times, one video included comments in which Segers questioned the need for people to ask about his pronouns and compared transgender people with people pretending to be service animals to obtain discounted airfare.
The newspaper reported that the videos appeared to have been deleted or made private after Segers’s 'Hadestown' casting became public, and that the timing of the recordings was unclear.
The specific dates on which the videos were recorded have not been established in the available reporting.
Production’s Response
The production did not publicly characterize Segers’s departure as a firing, instead describing the decision as a mutual agreement.
The New York Times reported that the production’s initial announcement did not explain why Segers would not join the cast.
The subsequent apology connected Segers’s own statements to the production’s cast and creative team, but it did not identify specific future educational programs, organizations or other corrective actions.
As of August 4, the production had said that replacement casting would be announced later.
'Hadestown' was scheduled to begin its new principal-cast performances on September 1 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre.
The musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell, follows the intertwined stories of Orpheus and Eurydice while incorporating the mythological figures Hades and Persephone.
The production has not announced whether the change involving Segers will affect the September 1 performance schedule.
Segers’s apology represents his first publicly reported response to the controversy surrounding his planned casting and departure.
Copyright EDGE Media Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
