'They Knew That I Was a Christian': Actress Lost Lead Role for Posting Christian Beliefs on Homosexuality
A young British actress is suing a UK theater company after it dismissed her from the lead role in a stage version of Award-winning play 'The Color Purple'.
According to the BBC 25-year-old Seyi Omooba recently filed suit against the Curve Theater in Leicester and Global Artists in London for breach of contract and religious discrimination.
The Christian actress was cast in the lead role of Ceile, but just one day later she was terminated because of a Facebook post she made in 2014 about homosexuality.
In the old Facebook post Omooba said that homosexuality was not right.
"On all my social medias I always post stuff about God, the Bible or Scriptures," Omooba says in a YouTube video.
"They knew that I was a Christian and they knew my stance on marriage, on my faith, on God, on many different things that are in the Bible," she added.
"Some Christians have completely misconceived the issue of Homosexuality, they have begun to twist the word of God," she wrote in the Sept. 18, 2014 post. "It is clearly evident in what the Bible says on this matter. I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexuality is right."
The 5-year-old post resurfaced in March after a cast member of the hit stage play Hamilton re-posted it on Twitter.
@Seyiomooba Do you still stand by this post? Or are you happy to remain a hypocrite? Seeing as you’ve now been announced to be playing an LGBTQ character, I think you owe your LGBTQ peers an explanation. Immediately. pic.twitter.com/GK2xbzZYgy
— Aaron Lee Lambert (@aleelambert) March 15, 2019
The tweet went viral.
"Do you still stand by this post," asked Adam Lee Lambert. "Or are you happy to remain a hypocrite?"
He went on to say, "Seeing as you've now been announced to be playing an LGBTQ character, I think you owe our LGBTQ peers an explanation."
Ceile's character in the play reportedly involves having a lesbian relationship.
In a statement, the theater said, "The comments made by Seyi have caused significant and widely expressed concerns both on social media and in the wider press. Following careful consideration, it has been decided Seyi will no longer be involved with the production."
Omooba says she is shocked by what has taken place.
"I was quite taken aback. I was like 'wow, people really think I hate them?'" she commented.
"People were calling me 'homophobic' and then I started getting calls from the producers saying something like I should retract the statement or what I posted or say sorry for what I posted."
Omooba has reportedly tried to find work in theater but has apparently been blacklisted. According to the Christian Legal Centre, which is representing her, one agency she approached for roles told her that: "Homophobia is illegal. It is not a matter of faith," and added that the agency would help her once she came "to her senses on this matter."
"I never thought it would get this far in terms of termination," said Omooba. "In terms of me losing an agent. I've been trying to email agents. Trying to get work and there's just no response."
Meanwhile, Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said, "What happened to Seyi Omooba was cruel and has damaged the career of a highly talented young artist for a Facebook post she had made four years earlier."
"This is another in a string of cases involving Christians being hounded out of their careers because they love Jesus," she said.
Williams added, "This story sends a chilling message to Christians, not only in the theatre industry but across our society, that if you express and hold mainstream Biblical views, you will be punished and will lose your career if you do not immediately renounce your beliefs."
"This cannot go unchallenged and we are determined to fight for justice in this case," said Williams.
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