Actor Geno Segers exits Broadway’s ‘Hadestown’ after backlash over resurfaced transgender comments
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesBroadway’s “Hadestown” and actor Geno Segers mutually agreed that he would not join the production, producers said Sunday, days after theater fans circulated previously posted videos in which he criticized transgender women competing in women’s sports and questioned pronoun practices.
Mr. Segers had been scheduled to begin playing Hades on Sept. 1, opposite Tony Award nominee Amber Iman as Persephone. The producers’ statement did not cite a reason for the decision, saying only that Mr. Segers “will no longer join the Broadway production.” The timing followed several days of online criticism, though producers did not directly tie the decision to the videos.
The resurfaced material included clips opposing transgender women’s participation in women’s sports, questioning pronoun disclosures and containing a statement Mr. Segers made: “I don’t see transgender people becoming oppressed or being oppressed.” One video dated to 2024, and OnStage Blog reported he had posted related material as recently as October 2025.
Mr. Segers made his Instagram account private and removed the videos from YouTube after they began circulating. The following day, he issued an apology, saying, “I wish to extend my most sincere apologies to everyone impacted by my words.”
Ms. Iman, Mr. Segers’ would-be co-star, indicated in an Instagram Stories post that she had privately pressed producers over the casting before the announcement, writing that she had gotten off social media to “demand answers.” Producers announced Tuesday that Ben Davis will take over the role of Hades beginning Sept. 1.
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