An actress who was dropped from the lead role of
The Color Purple for posting alleged homophobic remarks online did not realise the character she was due to portray was a lesbian.
An employment tribunal heard Seyi Oomba was due to play the lead character, Celie, in
The Color Purple at Leicester’s Curve Theatre in 2019. But she was later dismissed over anti-LGBT+ comments she made on Facebook in 2014.
Omooba is suing the Leicester Theatre Trust and her agents Michael Garrett Associates Ltd (Global Artists) for around £128,000 for her dismissal, claiming religious discrimination and breach of contract.
She is being represented by the legal arm of Christian Concern, an organisation co-founded by her father. The group said the case will “expose the mechanisms of censorship at the heart of the theatre industry”, adding that “any dissenting views against LGBT+ ideology, especially Christian beliefs, are currently incompatible with a theatrical career”.