After Page Six reported that Broadway superstar Laura Osnes was fired from a show for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination, Osnes issued a statement defending her decision to skip the injection because “there’s so much that’s still unknown” about the shots.
She also denied that she was fired, and said she decided to quit the one-night production of “Crazy for You” after producers at the Guild Hall Theater in East Hampton told her she’d have to get vaxxed to take part.
Osnes — who made her name when she won the talent search show “Grease: You’re the One That I Want!” in 2008, and has gone on to have a major Broadway career — wrote on Instagram, “I believe individuals have the right to do the research, consult a doctor, and come to their own conclusions before deciding whether or not to get any injections.”
“I stand by the decision my husband [photographer Nathan Johnson] and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning, and our future,” she added.
The “Cinderella” star said that someday they may “feel more confident in the research” about the vaccine and change their minds.
She said COVID is “a very real concern” for her, and claimed that the safety of her colleagues and audience members is “extremely important” to her, but she said she believes it’s possible for shows to go on “without vaccination mandates” by using other safety measures, like testing, social distancing, improved ventilation in theaters, quarantines and “other protective measures.”
Osnes also claimed she wasn’t fired for refusing to be vaccinated.
“A month ago, I was informed that the protocols [at the theater] had changed and I would now need proof of vaccination to participate,” she wrote. “I was disappointed but responded that I would have to withdraw.”
When we published our original story, a rep for the theater told us that “the policy of Guild Hall is that performers have the option to provide proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID test result.”
But Osnes claimed in her Instagram post that she was never given the option of providing a negative test result.
“I would have tested in a heartbeat,” she wrote, “something I have been doing for months, and will continue to do, in order to keep working safely.”
Although her post was intended to put out “a firestorm of negative conclusions and comments” that sprang up after we published the story, it doesn’t seem to have entirely done the trick.
The Hollywood Reporter’s awards show guru, Scott Feinberg, for one, posted a link to her statement and wrote, “It saddens me to see one of our most talented and beautiful Broadway performers double-down on career suicide.”
Broadway shows that are returning have announced that stars, theater staffers and audiences are required to be vaccinated.
A rep for the Guild Hall declined to comment.