A Nigerian-born Christian actress who lost a plum British theater role over her “homophobic” views — and now faces a six-figure legal bill — said she has no intention of dropping her five-year-old court battle.
The Christian Legal Centre said that Seyi Omooba, 29, will challenge the “unjust ruling” of a U.K. employment appeal tribunal, which upheld a previous judgment stemming from her firing from a 2019 production of “The Color Purple” at Leicester’s Curve Theatre.
“This is an open and shut case of discrimination against the Christian faith if there ever was one,” said Andrea Williams, the center’s chief executive, in a statement. “Seyi was racially abused, received death threats and was hounded out of her career for a polite and temperate expression of what the Bible says about marriage. An unjust ruling which defends her sacking cannot stand.”
Ms. Omooba, 29, was ordered to pay at least £300,000 or about $350,000 in legal expenses in 2021 after she lost her complaint against the theater and her former agent, Global Artists.
She had been chosen to play the lead role of Celie, but the theater reversed course after “Hamilton” actor Aaron Lee Lambert tweeted a 2014 Facebook post in which she said, “I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe that homosexuality is right.”
Mr. Lambert accused her of being a hypocrite, saying that “you owe your LGBTQ peers an explanation immediately,” given that the character of Celie is lesbian, touching off a media firestorm.
British publications, including the Times of London, the Guardian, the Telegraph, and PinkNews, described her comments as “homophobic.”
Ms. Omooba will seek permission to bring an appeal before the Court of Appeal, the second-highest court in England, according to the centre, vowing to fight for the rights of Christians “to hold our beliefs in the modern world.”
“I have long forgiven all those who have sought to ruin my theatre career, but the theatre world needs to be told, loud and clear, that canceling people for their Christian beliefs is illegal and wrong,” she said in a statement.
“From the outset, the theatre was offering to pay me off for terminating my acting contract, and I would not take that money,” she said. “This case is about the freedom of Christians to hold our beliefs in the modern world, and about the truth of what has happened to me.”
Ms. Omooba sued for religious discrimination, harassment, and breach of contract after she was released from the role, but later said she didn’t realize when she was hired that the character of Celie is a lesbian and would not have agreed to play the role if she had known.
She said her understanding of the character was based on the 1985 Steven Spielberg movie, which downplayed the lesbian angle, as well as her role in a concert version of the show, and admitted that she hadn’t read the script before taking the part.
The tribunal found that she “had not done her homework or been paying attention,” a finding upheld by Justice Jennifer Eady in her March 4 judgment.
“In making a costs award against the claimant, the [Employment Tribunal] had been entitled to reach the conclusion that her claims either had no reasonable prospect of success from the outset, or that they had no reasonable prospect once the claimant realized that she would never in fact have played the role of Celie,” said Justice Eady in her decision.
Ms. Omooba’s father, Pastor Ade Omooba, is a prominent Christian figure and co-founder of Christian Concern. He was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2019.
Her agent, Global Artists, told Ms. Omooba that “she might only be able to continue her role in ‘The Colour Purple’ if she retracted her Facebook post and published an apology, which she refused to do,” according to Christian Concern.
The Curve Theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome said in a statement that the “play and production are seeking to promote freedom and independence and to challenge views, including the view that homosexuality is a sin.”
“The Color Purple,” the award-winning 1982 novel by Alice Walker, was made into a musical that debuted on Broadway in 2005.
In her 2014 Facebook post, Ms. Omooba said that some Christians “have completely misconceived the issue of Homosexuality, they have begun to twist the word of God.”
“God loves everyone just because He doesn’t agree with your decisions doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you Christians we need to step up and love but also tell the truth of God’s word,” she said in her post. “I am tired of lukewarm Christianity, be inspired to stand up for what you believe and truth #our God is three in one #God (Father) #Jesus.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.