Actress Seyi Omooba, 25, was removed from a lead role in The Color Purple over comments she made about homosexuality
Posted on 10/01/2019 7:50:25 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A Christian actress who lost her lead role in the stage production of "The Color Purple" after expressing a biblical view on homosexuality is now planning to sue both the theatre and her former agents for religious discrimination.
In March, Seyi Omooba, 25, was given a starring role as Celie in a production of "The Color Purple," based on Alice Walker’s prize-winning novel, to be staged in Birmingham and Leicester, England. The character is seen by some readers as being gay; however, Omooba has said she does not agree with the interpretation of Celie as a lesbian character.
The London-based actress was dropped from the production after Aaron Lee Lambert, who stars in the West End production of Hamilton, shared a Facebook post Omooba wrote in September 2014, according to The Guardian.
In the post, Omooba urged Christians to “tell the truth” about homosexuality, writing: “It is clearly evident in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 what the Bible says on this matter. I do not believe you can be born gay and I do not believe homosexuality is right…”
"I do believe that everyone sins and falls into temptation but it's by the asking of forgiveness, repentance and the grace of God that we overcome and live how God ordained us to. Which is that a man should leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24.
"God loves everyone, just because He doesn't agree with your decisions doesn't mean He doesn't love you. Christians we need to step up and love but also tell the truth of God's word,” she added. "I am tired of lukewarm Christianity, be inspired to stand up for what you believe and the truth…”
In his tweet, Lambert asked: “Do you still stand by this post? Or are you happy to remain a hypocrite? Seeing as you’ve now been announced to be playing an LGBTQ character, I think you owe your LGBTQ peers an explanation. Immediately.”
The following morning, Omooba received a phone call from her agent advising her to retract her comments and apologize for what she had said about homosexuality. However, she refused, citing her Christian faith.
“I really wanted the role but what they wanted me to do was completely against my faith. I did not want to lie just to keep a job,” she told The Mail Online.
A short time later, she was dropped from the starring role and dumped by her agents who said her comments had caused “significant and widely expressed concerns.”
Now, she’s taking both the Curve Theatre in Leicester and Global Artists to court for breach of contract and religious discrimination, according to the BBC. The Christian Legal Centre confirmed on Facebook they will back her case.
The daughter of a pastor, Omooba told the MailOnline she was shocked to discover some viewed her comments as homophobic and said she has struggled to find work since the incident. She explained in a Facebook video posted by Christian Concern that those responsible for casting her as Celie knew about her stance on God, marriage, and “many other things that are in the Bible.”
“I just quoted what the Bible says about homosexuality, the need for repentance, but ultimately God’s love for all humanity,” she said. “I stand by what I wrote, but had I known that it would have come to this, I would have set my account to the privacy mode.”
“I have support from actors that I’ve worked with, including those in same-sex relationships, who say that even though they don’t agree with my views, they know that I’m not hateful or malicious.”
Omooba said she is determined to fight for the right to express her religious views, adding, “I want to make sure no other Christian has to go through something like this.”
In a statement, Christian Legal Centre Chief Executive Andrea Williams said Omooba has been “sacked and blacklisted” simply for “expressing what the Bible says about homosexual practice, the need for forgiveness and God's love for all humanity.”
“This is another in a string of cases involving Christians being hounded out of their careers because they love Jesus,” she said. "The presence of a homosexuality theme in the play is a very poor excuse for discriminating against a Christian actress. If we were talking about a lesbian actress playing a Christian character, nobody would dare to suggest that her sexual lifestyle would make her unsuitable, and that you could fire her without breaking the law.
“This story sends a chilling message that if you express mainstream biblical views, you will be punished and lose your career if you do not immediately renounce your beliefs. This cannot go unchallenged and we are determined to fight for justice in this case.”
Would it be discrimination to fire a Jewish person if he said eating pork is bad? Of course. What’s the difference in this case?
Apologize, retract, become gay yourself and she’d STILL be fired. And her dignity and character would’ve been destroyed.
” The character is seen by some readers as being gay; however, Omooba has said she does not agree with the interpretation of Celie as a lesbian character.”
She is on very solid ground, as it is clear that an actor, despite the rantings of the directors, producers and writers, has the right to interpret a character in their own way and use their own judgement as how their character is portrayed.
Notice nowadays how many Hollywood films ALMOST ALWAYS have to insert an obligatory gay character in their story. Sometimes, even a gay love scene.
This tells you everything about their agenda.
The world hates Christianity because they feel condemned by its teachings.
The huge majority of *real* Christians that are left in the world are in Africa...or from Africa.
Eating pork isn’t a trait of being in a Romans 1:18-32 condition.
2 Corinthians 2:16, IIRC, says that to the perishing we Christians are like the scent of death because we remind them of their state.
Make no mistake: it was t JUST saying homosexuality is wrong but saying people need to repent that got her the response it did.
Even owning your own business is problematic today as shown with cake bakers. Remember the sign that said "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"? You don't really own your own business. It's an illusion.
This woman probably couldn't find work even in a Christian play or movie today. If she was chosen to play Mary in a Christian production, someone would sue the production company to stop her employment.
As it was in the days of Noah and as it was in the days of Lot.......
There is an almost frantic tendency today, demonic in nature, to discredit the Bible and Christianity by championing beliefs and behaviors that directly oppose them. Homosexuality is a chief one, and those that claim to be homosexual or whatever are viewed by this new worldly morality as saints and heroes. Therefore anyone who disagrees with them must be devils and villains. So everyone must march to the beat of one drummer or the other, and the world is judging. Isn’t this what the Bible says will happen?
Our language has been corrupted!
Have you noticed how married heterosexuals now have ‘partners’ but homosexual men have ‘husbands’ and lesbian couples have ‘wives’?
When did that start???
The new orthodoxy.
Good for her. I eagerly await the race sensitive left to defend a black Christian woman’s right to speak without being discriminated against.
Yes, it does. Friendship with the world is enmity towards the Lord.
On a related note I’ve hit on the idea that since it seems reasonable. (at least to me) that Antichrist will be the leader of a new Muslim caliphate that it will prove strategically important to that realm that Islam comes with the doctrine of abrogation in place. Why? Because the part of Satan’s kingdom in the West that has made homosexuality its cause célèbre will not easily join with Islam unless they can keep their poofters. Thus I fully expect that the AC will introduce a homosexual friendly, if not homosexual mandatory, new Islam.
Downton Abbey
I love it when someone makes Jesus happy. She did here!
RE: Downton Abbey
2019 Oscar Best Picture Winner, Green Book.
The gay scene was UN-NECESSARY, but hey, they had to put it there anyway.
RE: I eagerly await the race sensitive left to defend a black Christian woman’s right to speak without being discriminated against.
In the hierarchy of today’s Political Correctness, I believe the following are in the food chain ( for one of a better word ) from top to bottom:
Transgenders
Homosexuals
Blacks
Hispanics
Asians
Whites
Why? Heck, because we allow them.
I doubt she wins -— it’s the U.K., for heaven’s sake! I’m surprised she hasn’t been jailed! Having said that, I believe she’s absolutely correct and that God is on her side, but we have been PROMISED, in the Bible, that we will be persecuted. And that persecution will NOT be confined to “uncivilized” countries much longer.
RE: I doubt she wins -— it’s the U.K., for heaven’s sake!
Yep. There is NOT a first amendment in their constitution.
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