Actress Seyi Oomba, who made headlines after she was fired from a UK revival of the musical The Color Purple, has landed herself in the news again. Oomba has launched a wrongful termination lawsuit against the theatre, and now claims she didn’t realize her character was a lesbian. She further claims that the publicity surrounding her firing has damaged her career.
Oomba originally landed the leading role of Celie in The Color Purple at Leicester’s Curve Theatre in 2019. Producers for the musical discharged her not long after the announcement that she’d won the role, citing several homophobic social media posts Oomba made in 2014.
“I do not believe you can be born gay, and I don’t believe homosexuality is right, though the law of this land has made it legal it doesn’t make it right,” Oomba posted to Facebook.
PinkNews now reports that Oomba has launched a £128,000 lawsuit against the producers, claiming wrongful termination. She is being repped by the activist group Christian Concern, which has vowed to “expose the mechanisms of censorship at the heart of the theatre industry.”
“Any dissenting views against LGBT+ ideology, especially Christian beliefs, are currently incompatible with a theatrical career,” the group added in a statement.
Related: Homophobic actress Seyi Omooba dropped from upcoming production of ‘The Color Purple’
Filings for the lawsuit also reveal that Oomba had previously told her agents she would never play a gay character. Lawyers for the actress have further stated that the actress did not understand Celie to be a lesbian, despite the play and source novel depicting her as such.
“It is in no way obvious and was never made clear to the claimant that she was expected to play a lesbian character,” Pavel Stoilov, Oomba’s lawyer said. “She was never asked explicitly to play this character as a lesbian.”
Tom Coghlin, the lawyer for the Leichester Theatre Trust, has disputed that claim.
“The role she complains about being dismissed from is one that she would have refused to play in any event,” Coghlin said in court on February 1. “Her choice was to resign or be dismissed, and she chose to be dismissed.” He further characterized her views on homosexuality as a “repudiatory breach of contract,” given that she would have to play a lesbian.
The case remains ongoing. The controversy around Oomba’s casting emerged in 2019. Actor Aaron Lee Lambert brought her homophobic 2014 post to light via Twitter.
@Seyiomooba 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. pic.twitter.com/GK2xbzZYgy
— Aaron Lee Lambert (@aleelambert) March 15, 2019
Following the backlash to Oomba’s remarks, producers for The Color Purple discharged the actress. At the time, Oomba denied the characterization of her remarks as homophobic.
Vince
What an effing dumb bitch. Tells her agents she would never play a gay role and the dumbass signs right up to do just that. $ of coarse changes her “Christian beliefs”. Then after she talks over and over about how much she despises gay people.
Since she’s obviously free to speak her mind then I don’t know where this Censorship BS comes from.
I expect a go fund me account set up soon. Her fellow bigots and loons will no doubt help her out.
Manray
She wants to be an actress and dislikes gay people? ahahahahahahahahahaha. She can take her christian supremacy and and her bible and shove them right up her fat ass.
Vince
Oh and speaking of the Color Purple I wonder how she feels about slavery since the Bible is chock full of good advice on how to beat… I mean treat your slaves.
My2CentsWorth
The world is full of people who have twisted views. It would be good if this ends her acting career. I am sure that she will still be able to get a job as a hotel maid (I have met some maids who were great people so she is not likely to enhance the reputation of hotel/motel maids).
KiwiJello
“didn’t realize her character was a lesbian”
She had ONE job. Did she research the character at all? There is a book, a movie, and a musical. Any viewing of these would have garnered some knowledge that Celie had lesbian tendencies. There is no excuse for her ignorance regarding LGBT people OR her career choice. If you can’t even research the character you are playing, you don’t deserve to be on stage.
ThatGuy22
I was going to say the same. It’s ridiculous to get a role and claim to have had no idea what the character was. Anybody who knows anything at all about this story knows the main character is at least bisexual, if not lesbian (she’s not straight, that’s for sure!). If this is true then, honestly, she’s a bad actress and didn’t deserve the part to begin with.
Nosso Crankee
She is SO cerebrally stymied that she doesn’t realize what an idiotic See You Next Tuesday she presents as; that aggressively thick forehead serves as an apt visual clue as to what lies within.
Kangol2
Seyi Oomba is worried about her damaged reputation, but she did it to herself! She signed up to play a lesbian role in a play, based on a film, based on a novel, which is known all over the globe, as are its characters. The lead character, Celie, is a lesbian. She could have Googled or asked anyone about the role, but evidently in addition to being a homophobe, she’s an imbecile. Her alleged Christianity is no excuse though it’s also no surprise. Maybe “Christian Concern” can write a right-wing play or film she can star in. As for her stage career in London, oh well.
Chrisk
Please. This bitch knew what the part was about. She’s just your standard pick and choose Christian. She just thought the past would stay the past.
Cam
“now claims she didn’t realize her character was a lesbian. ”
So she expects us to believe she didn’t read the script after she got the part. AND she was offered the choice to resign from playing a character she said she would never play, and didn’t.
Bigotry is expensive girl.
My2CentsWorth
Maybe she can get a job with the 700 Club (or whatever it is called). I hope that the law suit AND her comments will cause reactions by casting executives.
rand503
“Any dissenting views against LGBT+ ideology, especially Christian beliefs, are currently incompatible with a theatrical career,” the group added in a statement”
Oh no! I’m so totally worried now. Can I expose the fact that any dissenting views in favor of LBGT+ ideology are currently incompatible with a Christian career? I’m sure everyone will be aghast!
Josh447
Ah she’s still stuck in the bear trap of religion. Some think elections are rigged, you can count on the Bible to be the same. It’s a perfectly wired cash cow built on guilt and lies. Seems this evil dinosaur isn’t dead yet.
It also sounds like this ignorant girl didn’t do her homework and she will continue to pay, dearly.
I welcome this lawsuit. Just one more grave for religion to fall into and it will fully destroy her career.
Religiobots just can’t stop drinking the koolaid. To their utter destruction.
Maybe through all this her eyes wide shut, and others, will get a peek at reality. Mankind is a genetically based tri-sexual race regardless of what homophobes and their sick religions spew. Mankind was around long B4 religion got its pterodactyl claws into us. One can only hope that through these baseless claims more people will have their peepers opened.
PS Queerty – – – If you don’t fix your comments section in us having to repeat downloads to get a comment to stick w/o baseless moderation notices interfering, myself and others are going to quit commenting on your site. Please fix this ongoing issue now. It’s been going on forever without resolution. Thx.
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Prinny
Keep digging that homophobic hole sister
Josh447
Ah she’s still stuck in the bear trap of religion. Some think elections are rigged, you can count on the Bible to be the same. It’s a perfectly wired cash cow built on guilt and lies. Seems this evil dinosaur isn’t dead yet.
It also sounds like this ignorant girl didn’t do her homework and she will continue to pay, dearly.
I welcome this lawsuit. Just one more grave for religion to fall into and it will fully destroy her career.
Religiobots just can’t stop drinking the koolaid. To their utter destruction.
Maybe through all this her eyes wide shut, and others, will get a peek at reality. Mankind is a genetically based tri-sexual race regardless of what homophobes and their sick religions spew. Mankind was around long B4 religion got its pterodactyl claws into us. One can only hope that through these baseless claims more people will have their peepers opened.
PS Queerty – – – If you don’t fix your comments section in us having to repeat downloads to get a comment to stick w/o baseless moderation notices interfering, myself and others are going to quit commenting on your site. Please fix this ongoing issue now. It’s been going on forever without resolution. Thx.
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Josh447
Ah she’s still stuck in the bear trap of religion. Some think elections are rigged, you can count on the Bible to be the same. It’s a perfectly wired cash cow built on guilt and lies. Seems this evil dinosaur isn’t dead yet.
It also sounds like this ignorant girl didn’t do her homework and she will continue to pay, dearly.
I welcome this lawsuit. Just one more grave for religion to fall into and it will fully destroy her career.
Religiobots just can’t stop drinking the koolaid. To their utter destruction.
Maybe through all this her eyes wide shut, and others, will get a peek at reality. Mankind is a genetically based tri-sexual race regardless of what homophobes and their sick religions spew. Mankind was around long B4 religion got its pterodactyl claws into us. One can only hope that through these baseless claims more people will have their peepers opened.
PS Queerty – – – If you don’t fix your comments section in us having to repeat downloads to get a comment to stick w/o baseless moderation notices interfering, myself and others are going to quit commenting on your site. Please fix this ongoing issue now. It’s been going on forever without resolution. Thx.
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Doug
It will be interesting to see where this case goes legally. She’s pretty much dug herself into a hole and wants her cake and to eat it too.
zealot
Anything I had in mind to post flew out of my head due to the anger I’m feeling over pop up ads throughout the posts (some occurring in the middle of some commenter’s posts)! Queerty….please stop this. It’s disgusting!
Thad
Aren’t there “Christian theatre” companies in England? Granted, the American ones are second-rate, present melodramatic works with little challenge to actors, and pay very little. But ya gotta stand on principle.
My2CentsWorth
So, she might not have to become a hotel/motel maid. If so, there are many in the profession who will give a sigh of relief.
dwick
I didn’t realize that she was still around. I thought she crawled back under her rock.
cuteguy
The sad part is that black ppl, for the most part, use religion to mask their homophobia. It’s not a racist comment, it’s just fact. Black ppl should be more empathetic to human rights bc of all they’ve suffered in the past, but instead of fighting the good fight with us, they fight against us. It’s a shame. They usually use the excuse that we could hide our sexuality but they can’t hide their race. And of course they use their religion as another excuse. Fortunately there was one black person that was on our side and that was the great Barrack Obama. He made it ok for me to marry. So I will always be grateful for him and all he’s done,
wiggie
you’re opinion is not fact so don’t lump us all into a category. take your racist BS elsewhere.
Cam
You’re so right, all of those black Republican Evangelicals have been appointing homophobic judges and attacking LGBTQ rights for the past 4 years.
Oh wait, that was white evangelicals.
Black people just voted 90% for the most pro-LGBTQ administration in history.
Chrisk
Not all but of course a large percentage yes.
I cringe when I hear black people using the same damn lines and of course the Bible to justify their bigotry that white racists used against them for so many years. I had to grow up listening to it from my Racist Dad who was also a Pastor. It’s like they just dusted off the lines and regurgitated it verbatim.
The last thing my Dad said before throwing me out was now you’re even lower then the N*ggers. I don’t hate anyone. Not even him anymore. However, when the eff is this hate ever going to stop?
My2CentsWorth
I agree with you even though I am a Black person. Blacks can be uber haters. Especially, those who use religion as the basis of their hate.
It is most unfortunate that your father is, or was, a gentleman of contradictions. He pushed the religion which makes such a big deal about love and he was willing to put his child out.
Your life story might be very interesting. Maybe, if you have not, being on a LGBTQ podcast.
Tombear
Not the sharpest tool in the shed career wise when 90% of stage actors are gay.
spacecadet
Regardless of one’s personal/religious views, acting is just that. A character can be 100% different than the actor playing him or her and it doesn’t men the actor condones the behavior of the character. My assumption is that this bigoted actress would have no problem playing a murderer, and yet it’s a homosexual character she can’t play because of her holier than thou personal convictions.