Geno Segers Out of Hadestown Over Anti-Trans Posts
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- Geno Segers was announced earlier this week as the new Hades in Broadway's Hadestown by producers Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, and Tom Kirdahy, with a planned September 1 start.
- Theater site OnStageBlog reported that Segers had previously posted videos characterized as anti-transgender and was critical of pronoun usage choice; he had also reportedly opposed trans athletes competing in women's sports.
- The Hadestown producers said in a statement that they and Segers "mutually agreed" he would no longer join the production, with no further explanation and no statement from Segers included.
- Segers has made his Instagram private and removed videos from his YouTube channel since the controversy resurfaced.
- The departure marks the second time in a week a stage cast member exited over resurfaced social media commentary: Boy George stepped away from the West End revival of Jesus Christ Superstar after posting a song siding with Israel, with lyrics including "You say genocide/ I say war" and calling pro-Palestine artists "sheep."
- Segers' prior credits include Mufasa in the Australian production of Disney's The Lion King, On the Town at NYC Center Encores!, and TV roles in Banshee, Pair of Kings, Yellowstone, Teen Wolf, and Longmire.
Why it matters: Two high-profile stage cast departures in a single week — Segers from Hadestown and Boy George from Jesus Christ Superstar — both triggered by resurfaced social media posts, highlight how Broadway and West End producers now face the cost of recasting when a previously announced lead's online history surfaces. Segers loses a marquee Broadway role; the producers lose a casting cycle and must name a replacement under public scrutiny.
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