A Christian actress, Seyi Omooba, has filed a court case against her agents and a London theatre company. This was after her lead role in a musical was taken from her because she made a statement against homosexuality in 2014. In her statement, Omooba said that homosexuality is wrong.
The theatre company, Leicester Curve Theatre and Global Artists Agency is being sued by Omooba for breach of contract and discrimination after she was dropped from the stage production of The Color Purple in 2019.
The representative of the actress, N Christian Legal Centre, stated that this case will reveal the suppression that holds the theatre industry. This suppression can result to segregation against Christians who have a contrary view on the LGBTQ ideas.
The 26-year-old actress in September 2014 regularly shared messages about her Christian faith on social media. However, the particular Facebook post that caused an outrage was as a result of the decision of the government to introduce a law that approves same-sex marriage.
Below is an excerpt of the Omooba’s Facebook post;
"I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexual practice is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn't mean it is right."
Furthermore, she made reference to two scriptures to buttress her point – Genesis 2:24 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. After some years, the actress was contracted to act the lead role, Celie, whose sexuality was perceived to be a lesbian.
In defense of that decision, her lawyers said that Omooba did not read the role as a lesbian one. More so, the character’s sexuality was not explicit enough and the actress was not informed that she has to act a lesbian role.
Omooba’s lawyer, Attorney Pavel Stroilov, said;
"In the film, the lesbian theme is not present at all. There is one kiss between the female characters which can be interpreted in all sorts of ways. It is in no way obvious and was never made clear to the claimant that she was expected to play a lesbian character. She was never asked explicitly to play this character as a lesbian."
In a bid to prevent the lawsuit, the theatre company proposed to pay the full wages of the actress to her. This was the initial amount planned to pay her if she had acted in the production. Regardless, Omooba turned down the offer. She demanded a public ruling to expose how the theatre was partial against her because of her Christian beliefs.
Online hearings started on February 1 with the Employment Tribunal London. It will continue on February 11.
In 1985, the movie version of The Color Purple was released and it featured Hollywood actress Whoopi Goldberg. In her description of the movie, Goldberg said;
"Not really about feminism, or lesbianism, despite the fact that Celie finds out about love and tenderness from another woman….It has nothing to do with lesbianism. It has to do with, her eyes are opened, now she understands."
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