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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Christian actress is suing theatre and agents because she's homophobic

140 replies

Beseigedbykillersquirrels · 04/02/2021 21:34

www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-leicestershire-55923843?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16124732828219&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

Has anyone been following this in the news? From what I can make out, this homophobic actress was dismissed from a role she would have refused to play had she read the script before accepting because the character she was signed to play was gay. She has previously shared homophobic posts on social media, didn't tell her agents she would refuse to play gay roles and she's now suing for hurt feelings and damage to reputation. AIBU to think she's damaged her own bloody reputation?!

OP posts:
Afromeg · 05/02/2021 10:14

Right, so she's going to be cancelled now for her homophobic beliefs? Are there people here who agree with this but "hate cancel culture" when it has to do with someone's racist beliefs?

mymadpuppy · 05/02/2021 10:19

I was going to say I couldn't see the relevance of mentioning her being Christian, bearing in mind other religions have similar views but then I read about her father backing her.

Afromeg · 05/02/2021 10:22

I think people should be allowed to believe what they want without having to "apologise" for the belief. It's asking someone to pay lip-service when they're asked to apologise if they really don't mean the apology.

Unless someone is actually persecuting those she opposes (which she isn't), there's no need to offer apologies for what she believes, not to mention if it wouldn't affect her work. If her belief that being gay is a chosen and wrong lifestyle means she treats the gay people she works with differently, then that's a problem. Otherwise, she's not harming anyone. Many people judge others for their nature and one lifestyle or the other but still are decent around them, as they are with everyone else.

For those who like to say some racist people are products of their time, remember people are also products of their upbringing. People believe what they believe to be right, not everyone realises some things are wrong (at the same time as others). As long as they're not disturbing people or inciting harm and hatred, they can say what they want.

Ponoka7 · 05/02/2021 10:25

@PurBal, how is it decided what bits of the Bible to ignore and what to keep?

@14Afromeg

"Right, so she's going to be cancelled now for her homophobic beliefs? Are there people here who agree with this but "hate cancel culture" when it has to do with someone's racist beliefs"

People are cancelled for racist beliefs, it's sexist beliefs that are allowed to stand. Greg Clarke could be as sexist as he wanted to, but the first hint of out of date language and he was gone. Likewise actors, even those who commit DV.

She was stupid to do what she has done. But anyone religious is slightly bigoted, or is very good a cognitive dissonance. As a society we then ignore that some weeks hate speech is carried out in places of worship and the beliefs are carried around within the 'peace and compassion' front.

Afromeg · 05/02/2021 10:38

I do think she should have taken what was offered, which is fair considering the perception of the gravity of her beliefs and gone to work elsewhere but now she's made a name for herself in a 'bad' way, I doubt she'll ever work in the industry again. She should have picked her battles. Her father can support her now then.

Comefromaway · 05/02/2021 10:43

Her career so far hasn't exactly been in shows that epitomise Christianity or show the religion in a good light.

Hadestown, Spring Awakening, Color Purple, Little Shop (with a drag queen as the plant)

PurBal · 05/02/2021 10:45

@Ponoka7 Theology is fairly complex and I've only done a little formal study. The very short version, cutting lots out, is that the old covenant (or promise) made between Moses and the people was superseded by the new covenant with Christ. I won't go into all the theories of atonement but Christ reconciled sin. Now I think the language of sin is also very complex (I've been called "spiritually dead" for doing things some Christians consider sinful). But Christ said "Love your neighbor as yourself." and that's what I personally live by. Remember the Bible whilst "God inspired" it was written by human hand and not in English. The word "homosexual" only entered the English translation of the Bible in the 1940s. I'm also pretty sure that the book of Revelation was only included in the canon by a single vote (at the council of Nicea), we have the apocrypha for the "other" books. So the answer is that man decides what is and isn't relevant, and that will change depending on an individual's theology and interpretation. There are different beliefs about everything in theology: atonement, communion, the resurrection, etc. None are wrong but we can't know the answer with 100% certainty. "Great is the mystery of faith" and all that!

DarceyDashwood · 05/02/2021 10:45

But it would affect her work as she said she wasn’t going to play the character as gay! Which changes the entire production and imposes her views in the entire creative team! Her co-star had apparently also indicated she wasn’t comfortable performing with her and the production would have been affected financially due to being boycotted. Have the views if you must, share them publically if you must, but don’t expect there to be no consequences especially in an industry as diverse and pro LGBTQ+ as musical theatre!

Afromeg · 05/02/2021 10:46

how is it decided what bits of the Bible to ignore and what to keep?

@Ponoka7 Ones that don't apply to the person deciding. I remember when divorce was such a huge deal and a sin and a no-no but life hit many people, especially those leaders (and their children) preaching against it, suddenly, divorce is okay for some reasons. God understands divorce.

Soon, there'll be "valid reasons" to be gay and it wouldn't be such a big deal anymore once more preachers' kids and Christian children start coming out.

The goal post is moved often: alcohol, smoking, clubbing & partying, twerking for the Lord, etc. 🙄

It's all hypocritical really but it's just lack of understanding. Many people do that in other ways.

DarceyDashwood · 05/02/2021 10:46

@Comefromaway

Her career so far hasn't exactly been in shows that epitomise Christianity or show the religion in a good light.

Hadestown, Spring Awakening, Color Purple, Little Shop (with a drag queen as the plant)

Exactly! I saw her in Spring Awakening and I wonder if she read that script before performing in it! 🤷‍♀️
prisencolinensinainciusol2 · 05/02/2021 10:50

@Afromeg

Right, so she's going to be cancelled now for her homophobic beliefs? Are there people here who agree with this but "hate cancel culture" when it has to do with someone's racist beliefs?

I hate cancel culture so I'm m very interested in how this could be happening to this woman.

Could you flesh it out a bit?

Afromeg · 05/02/2021 10:51

@DarceyDashwood True. And if that's the case, she really should've just moved on. Too late for her now, I think. Time to change careers.

RickiTarr · 05/02/2021 10:59

how is it decided what bits of the Bible to ignore and what to keep?

“The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament.”

Everyone should read everything critically. Decide for themselves who wrote what, when it was written, what is from a trustworthy source, what the context & audience was, what is metaphor or allegory etc.

Christians firstly should be giving weight to the New Testament (everything that came after Jesus’ birth) and primarily the four Gospels (four different books by different authors that give accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings).

So that’s four books out of eighty that matter most because they are His teachings and of course they matter more to Christians than the ancient rules in Leviticus and Deuteronomy about who could eat what and sleep with whom, because they were superseded by a new set of rules.

So it’s not really random picking and choosing. The difficulty is that for centuries, people became rich and influential running different churches, overlaying their own priorities and using religion to control the populace. So they emphasised whatever suited them.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 05/02/2021 11:00

@Afromeg

Right, so she's going to be cancelled now for her homophobic beliefs? Are there people here who agree with this but "hate cancel culture" when it has to do with someone's racist beliefs?
I suspect it's more that she was given the part, refused to play it as written/directed and stood loudly on her 'Christian' beliefs to do so!

She also chose to be fired rather than take the offer to resign, which would not have affected her career. She then refused the full pay offered, unconditionally - which she then tried to claim in her tribunal!

Has she, at any point, taken a common sense approach to her predicament she wouldn't have found herself in it! First and foremost remembering that she did in fact know that the character she had been hired to play was gay! She could have backed out gracefully at that point - or even gracelessly!

But she didn't. So now you have to wonder why... and remember who her father is!

Afromeg · 05/02/2021 11:05

I agree with you @CuriousaboutSamphire

MustardMitt · 05/02/2021 11:06

It's The Colour Purple. So she hadn't read the book or seen the film?

Unsure what this has to do with cancel culture? People are saying this is a situation of her own making - she didn't read the script and accepted a role of a gay woman that she refuses to play. She should have at least been honest with her agent that she wouldn't play parts like this! And it wouldn't be an issue if she wasn't trying to get money out of the production... This isn't a person making a comment and being dropped from everything professional that she's ever been involved in.

Afromeg · 05/02/2021 11:09

The 'cancel culture' bit is that she's now going to be dropped or never picked again for any professional opportunity because she holds this view. So she's in effect, cancelled.

But yes, this particular case is something she could have avoided.

KaptainKaveman · 05/02/2021 11:13

Well, whatever happened, it's pretty clear that her life as an actor is finished. From what I have read it sounds as if she got greedy.

LakieLady · 05/02/2021 11:16

@NiceGerbil

She didn't read the script

I'm not sure that being openly homophobic is a good move when you work in theatre Confused

Yes, I was thinking that she's in the wrong game if that's how she feels, too.
pointythings · 05/02/2021 11:33

I don't think she has a right to complain about being 'cancelled', since she effectively cancelled herself.

This case makes me feel that she's been working for her dad, looking for another nice high profile case for Christian Concern to keep the donations coming in. But maybe that's just me being cynical.

Beseigedbykillersquirrels · 05/02/2021 12:47

christianconcern.com/news/employment-tribunal-to-hear-case-of-seyi-omooba/

This is the link for the Christian Concern website. They had to shoe horn in there that her father, a co founder of this organisation, received an MBE from the Palace. It also quotes Whoopie Goldberg and Steven Spielberg as though they are authorities on how the character should be played.

OP posts:
Comefromaway · 05/02/2021 12:49

Spielberg openly said that some of his directorial decisions were purely to get it a PG13 certificate at the time.

Moonbjerget · 05/02/2021 12:50

According to the BBC She admitted she had not read the full script before accepting the lead role in January 2019, but "probably" would have done by the time rehearsals began in May. So what, she was just going to phone them up the day before rehersals and say 'sorry, won't do it' leaving them to recast at the last second? Not very professional.

rosetylersbiggun · 05/02/2021 12:55

She was not fired for her "beliefs", she was fired for being a bigot and a bully and for refusing to do her job. She's made statements that - if true - clearly indicate that she is lazy and has a very poor work ethic. Claiming she accepted a job without reading the script, that she never paid attention during rehearsals or even when she was onstage. She's basically admitted to the world that she's unable to do her job.

And she is not being "cancelled." Acting is an extraordinarily competitive industry where only something like 2% of actors actually earn a living from it. No one is entitled to be a famous successful actor. It's not comparable to being fired from a job at Tesco. There's absolutely nothing stopping her from applying for work in any one of the zillions of cafes and call centres where most non-famous actors work (okay well obviously the pandemic but that's separate from her case). Actors lose roles constantly for being too fat, too thin, not pretty enough, not famous enough, not well-liked by audiences. Why should someone be granted a celeb career on a platter, that 99.9% of actors who actually are hard-working and nice to work with never get near, when she is by her own admission incapable of doing her job?

Looking at it as "cancellation" is misguided. No one is banning her from working. Anytime an actor applies for an acting role, they're going up against maybe 200 other agented Spotlight actors who are all really talented and have buckets of experience (as well as potentially hundreds of less experienced or unagented actors). To get the role over all those other actors you have to be exceptional and the whole buffet: acting talent + singing talent + dancing talent + good looking (not always but often) + right training + good CV + industry kudos + hard working + pleasant to work with + profile. Hell sometimes CDs even ask actors how many social media followers they have and base casting choices on that. Why is it "cancellation" if a director decides to cast someone who is nice and hard-working and brings a dedicated fanbase, over an actor who is lazy and unpleasant and won't bring in a good audience, and thus not equipped to do the job? Besides Christian Fundamentalist Entertainment is a billion dollar industry, look at the success of the Rapture films. If Seyi is willing to go to America she'd find loads of acting roles where this scandal would benefit rather than disadvantage her.

But they didn’t give her a chance to refuse it.
Curve did everything in their power to let her keep the role and she behaved like a bully and a brat and demanded her right to be homophobic and spread homophobic comments while playing a lesbian, refusing to play the role as written, and working with other out gay people. Even after she forced them to fire her, they still offered her full pay! What other job do you get fired and still get paid your entire salary?

I think a world in which you can be fired for things you said in the past, even when your opinion is, was or has become unacceptable, is a dangerous one for us all.

So if someone worked for as a carer for disabled people but was on the record as "believing" that disabled people are evil and should all be euthanised - and when challenged, stated that this was their current active belief, they shouldn't be fired? If a Neo-Nazi applies for a job working as a race equalities officer while posting on white supremacist forums, and actively states they will refuse to do any part of their job that might benefit a black person, they should get and keep their job? A person from a religious faith that believes abortion is a sin should get a job working in an abortion clinic, and do nothing but twiddle their thumbs and lecture all the women who come in?

I note than once again it's Christian, not a Jew or a Moslem (where the strictures are stronger)

What the actual fuck? First, as a Jew, please don't talk about my religion when you know nothing about it. Second, I guarantee if a Jewish or Muslim actor had done what Seyi did they'd have been fired and never worked again. And yes I can name specific incidents where this has happened.

lightand · 05/02/2021 13:00

I am a Christian. As regards the woman and her plight - I personally dont have any sympathy. She should have done due diligence.

As regards the Bible.
Sexual sin is a theme throughout the entire Bible, which I would have thought everyone knows by now, as it has been discussed everyone ad infinum for about the last 25 years.

Read the Bible for yourself. Dont rely on others to do it for you. Bibles are not expensive items to buy, and 2nd hand ones are even cheaper.
No one else can get you to Heaven. You have to do it for yourself. You can definitely be helped, but you cant rely on other people to get you there.

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