Christian Actress Fired Over Biblical Beliefs Could Now Be Forced to Pay $414,000 in Legal Fees
By Movieguide® Staff
In 2019, Christian actress Seyi Omooba lost her lead role in a stage adaptation of THE COLOR PURPLE due to a Facebook post that adhered to God’s standard for marriage and sexuality.
Now, Omooba could be required to pay the U.S. equivalent of more than $414,000 in legal fees.
CBN reported:
…The judges with the Employment Tribunal London who heard Seyi Omooba’s case said her claims for discrimination, breach of contract, and harassment would not go forward. They ordered her to pay the legal fees to her former agency and Curve in Leicester, where she was due to perform, even though the tribunal is supposed to be a cost-free forum.
Omooba’s Facebook post, posted in 2014, partly read: “I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexual practice is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn’t mean it is right.”
Omooba also claimed that “some Christians have completely misconceived the issue of homosexuality, they have begun to twist the word of God.”
Omooba also cited two scriptures to back up her beliefs, including Genesis 2:24 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
“It is clearly evident in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 what the Bible says on this matter,” Omooba wrote.
Omooba sued Leicester Curve Theatre and Global Artists Agency for discrimination and breach of contract after they fired her from the stage role in 2019.
Omooba came under fire because many fans and productions view the lead character, Celie, as a lesbian.
However, Omooba’s lawyers, who are with the Christian Legal Centre, said that this was not a given. Omooba was not told the character’s sexuality before being given the role.
“In the film, the lesbian theme is not present at all, there is one kiss between the female characters which can be interpreted in all sorts of ways,” Attorney Pavel Stroilov said. “It is in no way obvious and was never made clear to the claimant that she was expected to play a lesbian character. She was never asked explicitly to play this character as a lesbian.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, claimed that the decision to fire Omooba went further than mere censorship in the United Kingdom.
“Indeed, Seyi’s case is not merely another example of anti-Christian censorship and discrimination in modern Britain. It throws a dramatic limelight on the darker depths of 21st-century totalitarianism. Where stabbing a colleague in the back is not merely within the norm, but a professional duty. Where having once deviated in your mind from the ideological orthodoxy, you cannot trust anyone or anything: even a favorite book of your adolescence may be suddenly re-interpreted to become an indictment against you,” Williams said.
“This was an unusual case for Christian Legal Centre, with unusual strengths and unusual weaknesses. On one view, this should have been simply an open and shut case of unlawful religious discrimination. Seyi was dismissed because of her Christian beliefs, and that is the end of the matter – the law does not accept any excuses for that. However, because Seyi’s legal case was so strong, it was fought very fiercely by the woke Establishment. Because it was fought so fiercely, it takes some time to uncover the true story under the layers of ferocious propaganda,” she explained.
“The Tribunal has effectively joined the campaign of ‘canceling’ Seyi for her Christian beliefs. She and we are not intimidated and have appealed this shocking judgment which is a travesty of reality,” Williams added.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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