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Post by kathryn on Jan 29, 2021 17:52:51 GMT
I’d honestly forgotten all about this! 2019 was a whole other world! |
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 29, 2021 19:02:55 GMT
What has gone before is largely procedural. She wanted to 'adduce' evidence from a supportive theatre critic and a theologian. This was refused and it's that decision that was appealed.
It's the tribunal proper that starts on 1 February.
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Post by paddy72 on Jan 31, 2021 1:47:15 GMT
Give the kid a break. In the marathon of homophobic crimes this whole spat doesn’t even Get out the starting blocks. And since when did Christian and indeed all religion bashing become a legit sport on this site? What side do you take if you’re a queer Christian?
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Post by Phantom of London on Jan 31, 2021 2:51:06 GMT
That you are a Christian, who is also gay.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 31, 2021 7:45:42 GMT
Give the kid a break. In the marathon of homophobic crimes this whole spat doesn’t even Get out the starting blocks. And since when did Christian and indeed all religion bashing become a legit sport on this site? What side do you take if you’re a queer Christian? I won't give anyone a break who uses hate speech in the way she did. I might have been more impressed if she had actually shown any contrition or willingness to learn. But she hasn't. Attitudes such as those she displayed have no place in the modern world. They are driven by hate. They are a choice. Sexuality is not a choice. And thus her right to follow a hate-filled version of a particular religion does not offer any protection when she chooses to be hateful towards those who are part of LBGT+ communities. We must not and will not tolerate her sort of bigotry. |
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Post by kathryn on Jan 31, 2021 11:14:52 GMT
Give the kid a break. In the marathon of homophobic crimes this whole spat doesn’t even Get out the starting blocks. And since when did Christian and indeed all religion bashing become a legit sport on this site? What side do you take if you’re a queer Christian? She is the one who is suing. She is the protagonist here - we are merely spectators. Opinions expressed here have absolutely zero impact on the case. On a side note, ‘Queer Christian’ is a very odd phrase in relation to this case. ‘Queering’ in the ideological sense is about deconstructing heteronormativity. A ‘queer Christian’ would certainly not agree with Seyi Omooba’s religious beliefs that anyone outside of the married heterosexual family is morally wrong. A ‘gay Christian’ might, if they had a lot of internalised homophobia and believed that being gay is morally wrong. ‘Queer’, if not being used as a slur, has a particular meaning - it’s not synonymous with ‘gay’. The justification for using it as an umbrella term is that it covers everything ‘not heteronormative’, but increasingly people appear to be using it with no understanding of what it means. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2021 17:36:50 GMT
Give the kid a break. In the marathon of homophobic crimes this whole spat doesn’t even Get out the starting blocks. And since when did Christian and indeed all religion bashing become a legit sport on this site? What side do you take if you’re a queer Christian? Speaking as a questioning (in sexuality terms) Christian, she is not displaying what I would call Christian values, and anyone who takes her side isn't either. Live and let live, no-one has the right to discriminate on the basis of sexuality or otherwise. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jan 31, 2021 17:56:14 GMT
Just as a reminder of what she wrote.
I don’t care what she believes but if she doesn’t think it’s “right” then choosing a profession where you believe a large proportion of the people you encounter and work very closely with are lying seems an odd course of action.
Also, 26 isn’t a kid.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jan 31, 2021 18:39:58 GMT
Funnily enough, I was googling a few weeks ago to find out what happened with this case. Homophobia has no place anywhere in this world, least of all the arts which she CHOOSE to pursue. I cannot comprehend her logic. Nah. Get in the bin. I feel sorry for her colleagues, this must have been deeply unsettling for them. And to echo BurlyBear, 26 means you're an adult.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jan 31, 2021 18:49:11 GMT
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jan 31, 2021 19:42:19 GMT
I fully believe that if you are going to play a gay role at the very least you must not be against it, even if you aren't an active ally. The point is here that unlike when actors play murderers, rapists, gangsters ect and so on when they are (hopefully) not, when you play a gay role you are representing a community, real people, people in the very audience watching you. You have to be committed to doing that and have a basic connection to it and they you. Clearly she could not do that and was entirely inappropriate to play the role.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2021 20:09:01 GMT
Very much so. Interesting that her "legal team" is actually nothing of the sort - they claim to be providing pro bono legal advice but the person representing her at the Tribunal is just a lay representative, not a lawyer. So not a qualified lawyer (or at least not admitted to appear before the Tribunal). |
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Jan 31, 2021 20:18:01 GMT
It's embarrassing and such a waste of time considering the amount of pressure the Curve is under.
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Jan 31, 2021 20:32:58 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.
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Post by HereForTheatre on Jan 31, 2021 20:52:46 GMT
Well, what a waste of time then. She indeed comes across as a fool and one with no leg to stand on.
Btw I'm glad this happened. She would have read too young for Celie IMO anyway, she just looked to young, even if she wasn't. I thought that as soon as she was cast. I did actually see her as Nettie in the concert version as Cadogan Hall a few years ago and she was very good but I'm glad she didn't get that either anyway because Danielle was a star.
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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 Deleted 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 Deleted 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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