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Post by londonpostie on Jan 31, 2021 20:53:09 GMT
You have this thread and you have the It's a Sin thread. Can no one here really join up the dots of Nigerian Christian culture?
If the uncle too him back to Nigeria he would likely be killed. Do people not remember that. Did anyone call that out to be racist nonsense? Not that I know of. I work with Nigerian Christians, people absolutely convinced they are on earth to do Gods work as angels of the Lord.
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Post by kathryn on Jan 31, 2021 21:17:42 GMT
So what? She didn’t have to accept the part. She didn’t have to make the FB post.
She can hold whatever views she wants. Her views led to her losing this job because her attitude towards expressing them made the casting untenable. She could have kept her views to herself, or she could have avoided parts that would bring them into conflict with her job.
Her choice not to do that.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 1, 2021 1:13:41 GMT
For those who don't want to waste 1+ hours on this here's what went on behind the scenes and some extra tidbits:
After the scandal broke Seyi's agent reached out to her and she confirmed she stood by what she'd said in the Facebook post, it was only then she was dropped from the production and by her agent
The FB post in question was directed at "lukewarm" Christians whose beliefs aren't as strong as hers, presumably because they're more tolerant of the LGBTQ+ community
Seyi initially auditioned for Nettie and was asked to come back and sing for Celie. Imagine how close we were to this whole mess being avoided (though we wouldn't have had the utterly delightful Danielle Fiamanya)
Joanna Francis (Shug) via her agent, as well as the director and MD all said they wouldn't participate in the production if Seyi remained, people had started cancelling their tickets and at least one critic said they wouldn't review the show
The theatre expert hired comes down on Seyi's side, using some utterly bizarre logic such as "you wouldn't expect an actor playing Othello to advocate murdering an unfaithful wife". The Christianity expert comes down on the theatre's side.
When Leicester Curve terminated her contract they were willing to pay Seyi the full amount she would have earned from the production, but despite being reminded twice she never invoiced them. This is the amount Seyi is suing for.
It seems odd to me that Christian Concern, an organisation that supports Seyi and from what I've heard is affiliated with her father's church, are happily sharing court documents that make her look like such a fool. And they didn't block out her address.
I think the fact her address is there isn’t a good idea. GDPR?! Christian Concern sound like a joke.
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Post by steve10086 on Feb 1, 2021 8:53:14 GMT
“Christian Concern” seem to be mainly concerned about themselves. Which doesn’t sound very... Christian!
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Post by poster J on Feb 1, 2021 13:52:11 GMT
“Christian Concern” seem to be mainly concerned about themselves. Which doesn’t sound very... Christian! They aren't a profitable company, they do seem very much driven by their conservative theology. A quick Google search on Mr Stroilov, her "representative", suggests he was granted asylum in the UK in 2006 after stealing documents from the Kremlin, and despite being a historian not a lawyer has made headlines for himself by giving inaccurate legal advice on a number of really controversial cases like some of the tragic matters surrounding terminally ill children whose parents wanted to keep them alive at all costs. He is also acting as representative for a Russian entrepreneur (who is wanted in Russia for economic crimes) in a claim regarding millions of pounds of guarantees given to a Russian bank.
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Post by cherokee on Feb 1, 2021 15:38:56 GMT
According to this report: www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/actor-sacked-homophobia-didnt-know-4952526, Omooba seems to be arguing - slightly bizarrely - that had she known the character was gay, she would not have accepted the role and had she appeared in the production, she would have refused to play the character as gay: which seems to completely justify the Curve's decision to dismiss her. Surely her only hope of winning is to argue that her personal beliefs here are irrelevant as long as she were able to put them to one side and not let them interfere with her ability to do the job she was hired to do?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 1, 2021 15:46:23 GMT
According to this report: www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/actor-sacked-homophobia-didnt-know-4952526, Omooba seems to be arguing - slightly bizarrely - that had she known the character was gay, she would not have accepted the role and had she appeared in the production, she would have refused to play the character as gay: which seems to completely justify the Curve's decision to dismiss her. Surely her only hope of winning is to argue that her personal beliefs here are irrelevant as long as she were able to put them to one side and not let them interfere with her ability to do the job she was hired to do? Given she had already appeared in a different role in a concert production, it is not credible to believe that she wasn't aware of the detail of the piece. Utterly ridiculous.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 1, 2021 16:27:02 GMT
If it’s true that she was offered the money out of court then what is her motive for doing this? I don’t get it? Unless it’s some intended demonstration of piety or to please her father. Or maybe to come out of it vindicated by the justice system in order to be employed in the theatre again?
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Post by poster J on Feb 1, 2021 16:33:48 GMT
According to this report: www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/actor-sacked-homophobia-didnt-know-4952526, Omooba seems to be arguing - slightly bizarrely - that had she known the character was gay, she would not have accepted the role and had she appeared in the production, she would have refused to play the character as gay: which seems to completely justify the Curve's decision to dismiss her. Surely her only hope of winning is to argue that her personal beliefs here are irrelevant as long as she were able to put them to one side and not let them interfere with her ability to do the job she was hired to do? Given she had already appeared in a different role in a concert production, it is not credible to believe that she wasn't aware of the detail of the piece. Utterly ridiculous. She also seems to be arguing that the character isn't gay and doesn't have to be played as a gay character, so she should still have been allowed to do the role and play it her way. Slightly different point but equally strange. The press release this Christian Centre put out when she lost her appeal to have partisan expert evidence introduced is just bizarre.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 1, 2021 16:35:26 GMT
Outside of bookings to sing at church events, she will not work professionally in the arts again unless and until she recants.
Her stated beliefs make it impossible for her to be cast. And quite rightly so.
Hate speech is hate speech.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 1, 2021 16:36:37 GMT
Given she had already appeared in a different role in a concert production, it is not credible to believe that she wasn't aware of the detail of the piece. Utterly ridiculous. She also seems to be arguing that the character isn't gay and doesn't have to be played as a gay character, so she should still have been allowed to do the role and play it her way. Slightly different point but equally strange. The press release this Christian Centre put out when she lost her appeal to have partisan expert evidence introduced is just bizarre. Given Alice Walker's intervention, there is no doubt about the sexuality the character she created.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 1, 2021 18:07:03 GMT
According to this report: www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/actor-sacked-homophobia-didnt-know-4952526, Omooba seems to be arguing - slightly bizarrely - that had she known the character was gay, she would not have accepted the role and had she appeared in the production, she would have refused to play the character as gay: which seems to completely justify the Curve's decision to dismiss her. Surely her only hope of winning is to argue that her personal beliefs here are irrelevant as long as she were able to put them to one side and not let them interfere with her ability to do the job she was hired to do? ... and it's a given that you would research the show you are auditioning for? That is TEXTBOOK.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 1, 2021 18:09:33 GMT
Given she had already appeared in a different role in a concert production, it is not credible to believe that she wasn't aware of the detail of the piece. Utterly ridiculous. She also seems to be arguing that the character isn't gay and doesn't have to be played as a gay character, so she should still have been allowed to do the role and play it her way. Slightly different point but equally strange. The press release this Christian Centre put out when she lost her appeal to have partisan expert evidence introduced is just bizarre. She can argue until she is blue in the face. Her views are bigoted, there is no place for them in society let alone the theatre industry and I can't believe how thick someone can be. There is no logic in her argument. Christian Centre can actually do one.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 1, 2021 18:29:42 GMT
She needs to shut up and go away.
She should know better.
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Post by sph on Feb 1, 2021 19:02:58 GMT
The way I view it is that the rights and protection of gay people must take priority over religion. Why? Because we can prove that gay people exist. Equal treatment of gay people is based on the fact that they are very real and have lives and families and marriages and children and jobs and mortgages etc. This can be proven and therefore can be passed into law based on evidence.
Religious beliefs, while you are entitled to hold them, are based on faith, not evidence. You cannot prove that God exists and so cannot be given legal priority over the rights of a gay person who demonstrably exists. Again, you can go into a church and believe what you want, I really don't care, but in a court of law you must work with facts and evidence.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 1, 2021 19:26:25 GMT
Given she had already appeared in a different role in a concert production, it is not credible to believe that she wasn't aware of the detail of the piece. Utterly ridiculous. She also seems to be arguing that the character isn't gay and doesn't have to be played as a gay character, so she should still have been allowed to do the role and play it her way. Slightly different point but equally strange. The press release this Christian Centre put out when she lost her appeal to have partisan expert evidence introduced is just bizarre. So she was totally miscast, and letting her go was a kindness. Why she is trying to argue otherwise is truly puzzling. Surely every actor has moments when they realise they are just not right for a role - learning when to say ‘this is not right for me’ is part of the expected professionalism of a professional actor.
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Post by mrbarnaby on Feb 1, 2021 21:53:48 GMT
I trust she has a back up career, because she isn’t working in a theatre ever again.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 1, 2021 22:16:11 GMT
I trust she has a back up career, because she isn’t working in a theatre ever again. There is a market for church music andvI suspect her views would go down well in parts of the US But she has no future in musicals/theatre in the UK
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 1, 2021 22:56:35 GMT
I guess she can mount a decent legal challenge, as her costs will be met by others.
I have to say though that she comes across as being totally naive, working in the arts where sexuality isn’t an issue and applying to work in a musical that has homosexual themes, well I’m just saying it is a bit like someone who follows the Jewish faith or even myself being a non-meat eater applying to work in a bacon factory or a Jehovah Witness applying to be a phlebotomist.
Did she really want to work in that musical or was there something a bit more all along?
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 1, 2021 22:58:55 GMT
I trust she has a back up career, because she isn’t working in a theatre ever again. There is a market for church music andvI suspect her views would go down well in parts of the US But she has no future in musicals/theatre in the UK Oh those American churches that are anti-gay and anti abortion, but pro gun and anti universal healthcare. Praise the lo........
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 1, 2021 23:00:22 GMT
She had already been in a production before. Yes it was a concert version but she can't claim to not know what she was letting herself in for.
And as for a proper legal challenge.. she might have done better to engage a proper employment lawyer rather than her chosen counsel who appears to have no legal training.
She is the architect of her own misfortune. And until she moves away from her beliefs, she is not deserving of any sympathy.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Feb 3, 2021 18:48:50 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2021 19:03:10 GMT
Maybe she should retrain in cyber.
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Post by alece10 on Feb 3, 2021 19:05:41 GMT
Oh please! I'm thick and even I figured it out the first time I saw the musical.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 3, 2021 21:07:22 GMT
If she is that dense, no other director would risk working with her every again.
They are going to laugh her out of court. I can't wait.
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Post by ncbears on Feb 3, 2021 21:23:48 GMT
According to this report: www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/actor-sacked-homophobia-didnt-know-4952526, Omooba seems to be arguing - slightly bizarrely - that had she known the character was gay, she would not have accepted the role and had she appeared in the production, she would have refused to play the character as gay: which seems to completely justify the Curve's decision to dismiss her. Surely her only hope of winning is to argue that her personal beliefs here are irrelevant as long as she were able to put them to one side and not let them interfere with her ability to do the job she was hired to do? ... and it's a given that you would research the show you are auditioning for? That is TEXTBOOK. Her counsel suggests that she watched the film version as her homework. And since Spielberg didn't portray Celie as a lesbian, then that is that. And ignore what Alice Walker or Marsha Norman wrote. Except Ms. Omooba wasn't hired to do the Spielberg film....
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Post by The Matthew on Feb 3, 2021 21:28:52 GMT
An awful lot of people (and a lot of awful people) seem to believe they can be cagey with the truth in court, and so long as they scatter a few scraps of information that paint them in a good light nobody will look too deeply into the gaps in their tale. But courts are used to people who think they can get away with only telling the half of the story that makes them look good. They can spot someone carefully skirting around an issue a mile off and they'll home straight in on the things that are being held back.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 3, 2021 22:47:14 GMT
... and it's a given that you would research the show you are auditioning for? That is TEXTBOOK. Her counsel suggests that she watched the film version as her homework. And since Spielberg didn't portray Celie as a lesbian, then that is that. And ignore what Alice Walker or Marsha Norman wrote. Except Ms. Omooba wasn't hired to do the Spielberg film.... EXACTLY. Again. Do. Your. Homework. It’s a musical. It’s an adaptation. Even if you’re unsure. Research!!!!!!!!!! Cannot understand how someone who trained at drama school doesn’t have the knowledge to do the BASIC stuff? It’s what you’re always taught and even if you weren’t - I mean; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to be on it and savvy. Clearly not in this case. Christian Concern are just so sheer tone deaf - it’s cringeworthy to even read their flawed rhetoric. It’s amateur. Waste of everyone’s time.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Feb 3, 2021 22:47:50 GMT
Maybe she should retrain in cyber. I am FINISHED.
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Feb 4, 2021 9:14:56 GMT
... and it's a given that you would research the show you are auditioning for? That is TEXTBOOK. Her counsel suggests that she watched the film version as her homework. And since Spielberg didn't portray Celie as a lesbian, then that is that. And ignore what Alice Walker or Marsha Norman wrote. Except Ms. Omooba wasn't hired to do the Spielberg film.... I've not seen the film but isn't she still a lesbian in it? The Wikipedia plot summary suggests she is.
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