Seyi Omooba is suing Curve Theatre

It boggles the mind that Omooba thought any other result was possible.

I actually got a video link and watched the final day of proceedings. I thought she did just have a sliver of a chance of success. As far as I can tell, she only came out and said that playing gay was a non-negotiable red line for her, after she'd been dismissed. (Her agents knew beforehand but the theatre didn't.) And I suppose that in that case, her admission that she would have refused to play the role as directed could have been ruled irrelevant as things didn't actually get that far. In which case, she could have won on the basis that although her views are obnoxious and offensive to many people, they are not illegal and are indeed mainstream in fundamentalist Christianity. So whilst it's true that the Curve and the production would have suffered negative publicity, they still didn't have the right to fire her. She was, after all, fired because she refused to retract or denounce the Facebook post, not because she refused to interpret Celie as gay.

(I am relieved it didn't go this way, but I think it's at least conceivable that it could have.)

The law doesn’t work like that. It’s not the legality of her views at question, it’s whether the Curve were justified in dismissing her as not being suitable for the job.

As she would not have been able to perform the role at all, they were entirely justified in firing her. The post and her response to the post being publicised was ample basis for them to draw the conclusion that she wasn’t suitable for the role, the fact that she hadn’t prepared properly for the role showed that her competence was lacking to perform it, the fact she admitted she would have quit the production anyway made it conclusive.

What’s remarkable is that she brought the case knowing she would have quit the production anyway. That’s almost as hard to believe as the fact that she didn’t know the nature of the role when she auditioned.

If that is true, it’s mind boggling. There’s always the possibility that she is fibbing about some of this stuff though!

I'm inclined to agree with Leicester Curve's statement. I think it's likely that Christian Concern and her father decided to make a fuss in order to stir up some more headlines about Christians being discriminated against and being penalised for their religious views. It's an expensive way to do it, though.

Full statement from The Curve:

Yes a very gracious statement from The Curve. So glad this case had this result.

I sincerely hope we shall never hear from this person again.

She has essentially killed her own career in the performing arts and so we need never bother with her again.

As the case progressed, it was clear that each time she and her representative spoke in the tribunal, they lessened their chance of success.

It shows that if you want to win in a complicated area of employment law, you need to engage a lawyer not a dodgy mate of your father.

Today is a day to celebrate.

Heh.

I have noticed that if judges can decide a case by taking all of the testimony at face value and drawing conclusions from it they will do so, even in cases where one wonders if the testimony is credible.




I end up reading far too many judgements directly because of my interest in press regulation - you absolutely cannot trust the press to accurately report on cases where they have lost, so you have to trawl through the judgement to find out what really happened.

There is no witch hunt

This person made those statements. And has not changed their mind or shown any willingness to grow.

Anyone is entitled to hold those opinions but those opinions once openly expressed are not worthy of protection under employment law.

A way out with full pay was offered and declined.

Legal action was started and someone without legal training was appointed their representative in the tribunal.

This person made claims that have been completely rejected.

They are the architect of their own misfortunes and must now reap what they have sown. They have made themselves unemployable in the career for which they trained. That is all down to their own actions.

Without sounding like a witch hunter, I hope they're not any artists like her out there.

I suspect not in acting but wonder about about other domains in the performing arts

There are plenty who hold certain religious views but they keep their personal beliefs in the private realm. And there are plenty who choose their projects so not as to put themselves in conflict with their chosen beliefs. They probably fully understand that how they have chosen to live their lives does not offer them any special rights.