A devout Christian and British actress was cast as the lead actress in a play but was fired following the discovery of an old Facebook post containing Bible verses from 2014.
26-year-old Christian actress Seyi Omooba filed a lawsuit against the production company Leicester Theatre Trust after she was fired due to an old Facebook post containing Bible verses. In 2019, Omooba landed the lead role of Celie in the stage adaptation of the award-winning film, "The Color Purple." However, she was soon let go after her old Facebook post opposing homosexuality was uncovered.
"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," Omooba's Facebook post from 2014 read. She cited bible verses 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Genesis 2:24, writing that while "everyone sins and falls into temptation," people can seek "forgiveness, repentance" and return to loving "how God ordained us to."
The Christian actress alleged religious discrimination, a case which was heard by the Central London Employment Tribunal. Christian Headlines reported that Omooba is being represented by the Christian Concern arm of Christian Legal Centre, of which her father, pastor Ade Omooba MBE is a founder.
The pro bono legal organization believes that the Christian actress has suffered disctrimination after the Facebook post containing Bible verses was made known to the theater company. The legal group said in a statement that they are looking to expose how "any dissenting views against LGBT ideology, especially Christian beliefs, are currently incompatible with a theatrical career."
According to BBC, the theater company responded to the lawsuit, saying that the Christian actress would've eventually "refused the role if she'd known the character was gay." Omooba's lawyers argued that the sexuality of "The Color Purple" character Celie was ambiguous and that their client was comfortable playing that role, as she was "never asked explicitly to play this character as a lesbian."
Leicester Theatre Trust insisted that it was the Christian actress who did not confirm with the director with regards to if Celie will be played as a gay character in their stage adaptation of the 1982 novel by Alice Walker, upon which the Steven Spielberg's 1985 film adaptation is based.
Pavel Stroilov, who is the representative of Omooba, claimed that in Spielberg's adaptation of "The Color Purple," the lesbian theme is not present at all. It is in no way obvious and was never made clear to claimant that she was expected to play a lesbian character."
Stroilov added that it would be "absurd" for the Christian actress to "inquire" with the director, Omooba's employer, to find out whether or not they would "interpret this play differently from Steven Spielberg."
The Christian actress whose old Facebook post containing Bible verses became the cause of her dismissal from the play is seeking £128,000 (about $ 154,000) from the Leicester Theatre Trust and her agents Michael Garrett Associates Ltd (Global Artists) on the grounds of religious discrimination.
