Actor Geno Segers will no longer appear in Hadestown, just days after he was announced as the Broadway musical’s new Hades and his casting sparked backlash over past social media posts.
Earlier this week, the long-running production revealed a new principal cast, with Segers set to join the show at Manhattan’s Walter Kerr Theater from September 1. But the announcement quickly drew criticism after social media users resurfaced videos in which the 49-year-old appeared to make anti-transgender remarks and criticized the use of pronouns.
Segers, 49, has previously appeared onstage in The Lion King and On The Town and appeared in TV shows including Pair of Kings and Yellowstone.
“The producers of Hadestown and Geno Segers have mutually agreed that Mr. Segers will no longer join the Broadway production. Additional casting will be announced shortly,” the producers of Hadestown — including Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold and Tom Kirdahy — said in a statement Sunday obtained by The Independent.
The Banshee actor has since made his Instagram private and removed videos from his YouTube channel, where he previously had videos titled “TRANS FAIRNESS?” and “NO MORE TRANS.” He also previously criticized trans athletes in social media posts.
Segers did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
It is unclear how long the performer, who previously starred as Mufasa in Disney’s Australian production of The Lion King, was set to play Hades, the god of the underworld. The role was originated on Broadway by actor Patrick Page.
Opposite Segers, the new principal cast included Amber Iman as Persephone, Yellowjackets star Jasmin Savoy Brown as Eurydice, singer Kayko as Orpheus and Tony-winning legend Norbert Leo Butz as Hermes, which will mark his first return to Broadway in nine years.
The musical was written as a folk-opera by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, who intertwined the tragic Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone.
Originally starring Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada, the underworld-themed musical was first performed in 2006, but opened on Broadway in April 2019. Later that year, the show swept the Tony Awards with eight wins and took home a Grammy win as well.
Sunday’s casting news comes after the hit show was filmed professionally and released in theaters last month. Hadestown: The Musical broke the record for the highest-grossing live stage capture with a $10.2 million opening, beating out the pro-shot of Hamilton.