‘Hadestown’ Parts Ways With Hades Actor Geno Segers After Online Controversy
Broadway's "Hadestown" has parted ways with actor Geno Segers just days after announcing he would join the production as Hades. The decision followed the resurfacing of old online videos and comments in which Segers made remarks widely viewed as anti-transgender, including criticism of pronoun usage and comments about trans athletes in women's sports.
The show's producers said in a statement that they and Segers had "mutually agreed" he would no longer join the cast, adding that further casting news would follow shortly. Segers, whose credits include "The Lion King" on stage and TV roles in "Banshee" and "Yellowstone", has since made his Instagram account private and deleted videos from his YouTube channel. The new "Hadestown" cast, including Kayko as Orpheus, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Eurydice, Norbert Leo Butz as Hermes and Amber Iman as Persephone, is due to begin performances on 1 September at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre.
- Geno Segers dropped from Broadway's "Hadestown" days after casting announcement
- Old videos with anti-trans remarks resurfaced, prompting exit
- New "Hadestown" cast begins performances 1 September at Walter Kerr Theatre
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Producers and cast advocates would argue that a Broadway show is a workplace and a brand, and that producers have both the right and the responsibility to consider whether a performer's public statements could alienate audiences, colleagues, or the show's values of inclusivity. Hadestown has long been embraced by LGBTQ+ theatregoers, and maintaining trust with that community and with cast and crew members who may be personally affected by anti-trans rhetoric is a legitimate business and cultural consideration. Swiftly parting ways, rather than letting the controversy fester through previews and opening, can be seen as a pragmatic way to protect the production, its staff and its audience relationships.
The case against
Segers' defenders would argue that an actor should not lose a hard-won role over past personal opinions expressed outside the workplace, particularly on a genuinely contested public policy question like transgender participation in women's sports, where reasonable people disagree. They would contend that punishing performers for old social media commentary, especially when it does not touch on job performance or on-stage conduct, creates a chilling effect that discourages any public expression of dissenting views and sets a precedent where past statements can be excavated to end careers regardless of context, sincerity of apology, or capacity to work professionally with all colleagues.