The actress Seyi Omooba has lost the employment tribunal claim that she brought against Leicester’s Curve Theatre and talent agency Global Artists. Omooba, a Christian, was was due to star in a production of the musical The Color Purple, but was dismissed after the discovery of historic anti-gay online comments. She subsequently sued for religious discrimination and breach of contract.
Omooba was originally cast in the lead role of Celie in the stage adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, in a joint production by Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome. Celie is widely considered to be a lesbian character, developing an intimate relationship with female jazz singer Shug Avery.
In 2019, Hamilton actor Aaron Lee Lambert shared a screenshot of Omooba’s Facebook post from 2014, in which she said: “I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexuality is right”, adding “Christians, we need to step up and love but also tell the truth of God’s word. I am tired of lukewarm Christianity.” Lambert asked whether the actress stood by her post, given her casting as “an LGBTQ character.”
Following widespread public criticism of Omooba, Leicester Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome released a statement in response, saying that “following careful reflection it has been decided that Seyi will no longer be involved with the production.”
The actress then launched legal action, which was due to begin last April, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Omooba dropped her tribunal against Birmingham Hippodrome, accepting that they played a “minor role” in her dismissal, but continued to sue the Leicester Theatre Trust and her agents Michael Garrett Associates Ltd (Global Artists, on the grounds of religious discrimination and a breach of contract.
