{"id":14487,"date":"2024-03-17T20:52:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T15:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/17\/christian-actress-ordered-to-pay-350k-over-post-on-homosexuality\/"},"modified":"2024-03-17T20:52:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T15:22:28","slug":"christian-actress-ordered-to-pay-350k-over-post-on-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/17\/christian-actress-ordered-to-pay-350k-over-post-on-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian actress ordered to pay $350K over post on homosexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article_content\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"article-byline\"> By <a class=\"reporter\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/by\/anugrah-kumar\"> Anugrah Kumar<\/a><span class=\"quiet\">, Christian Post Contributor <time datetime=\"Sunday, March 17, 2024\" itemprop=\"datePublished dateModified\">Sunday, March 17, 2024<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<figure data-index=\"0\" class=\"img-box align-center center\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><picture width=\"700\" height=\"385\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/images\/cache\/image\/14\/07\/140757_w_700_385.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/images\/cache\/image\/14\/07\/140757_w_700_385.jpg\" class=\"type:primaryImage\" alt=\"Actress Seyi Omooba\" width=\"700\" height=\"385\"\/><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption\"><span class=\"photo-des\">Actress Seyi Omooba<\/span> | <span class=\"credit\">Christian Legal Centre<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seyi Omooba, a Christian actress dismissed from a stage adaptation of \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d for her alleged homophobic remarks, has lost a protracted legal battle, culminating in a directive to cover legal expenses exceeding $350,000.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy began with a social media post that led to her removal from the production, sparking a five-year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/actress-fired-for-expressing-biblical-view-of-homosexuality-sues-for-religious-discrimination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">legal dispute<\/a> over allegations of religious discrimination. Omooba, 29, is the daughter of a pastor, faced termination from her role as Celie, a lesbian character, in the 2019 production after her comments on homosexuality surfaced online.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Christian actress hounded out of her promising career for a post she made on Facebook in 2014\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QHD3iLebBfc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Omooba, who had not read the play\u2019s script before accepting the role, contended she was unaware of the character\u2019s sexual orientation. Her legal challenge against the theatre and her former agents was dismissed, with the tribunal emphasizing her lack of preparation and understanding of the role, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2024\/03\/13\/christian-actress-seyi-omooba-color-purple-lgbtq-appeal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to<\/a> The Telegraph.<\/p>\n<section class=\"inline-newsletter-mar24 design\" id=\"inline-mar24\" action=\"\/newsletter\/inline-mar24.html\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"graphic\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/assets\/img\/newsletter\/photo-newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"txt\">\n<h2 class=\"title\">Get Our Latest News for FREE<\/h2>\n<p>Subscribe to get daily\/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The Employment Appeal Tribunal reviewed Omooba\u2019s background, noting her upbringing in a devout Christian family and her previous refusals to accept roles conflicting with her beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>The judge said Omooba \u201cknew she would not play a lesbian character, but had not raised this with the theatre, or sought to inform herself as to the requirements of the role of Celie,\u201d The Sunday Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/sacked-color-purple-actress-loses-legal-battle-over-homophobic-post-v96bxxc0b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>She was familiar with the film adaptation of \u201cThe Color Purple,\u201d based on Alice Walker\u2019s prize-winning novel that was to be staged in Birmingham and Leicester, England, and which downplayed the lesbian relationship central to the story, but she failed to grasp the stage version\u2019s focus on this aspect.<\/p>\n<p>Her stance on not playing certain characters due to her religious convictions, including rejecting a role in \u201cThe Book of Mormon,\u201d was highlighted during the tribunal. Her legal appeal, including the objection to the substantial legal fees, was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Lee Lambert, associated with the musical \u201cHamilton,\u201d had highlighted Omooba\u2019s past Facebook post, which questioned the legitimacy of being born gay and labeled homosexuality as incorrect.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2014 post, Omooba urged Christians to \u201ctell the truth\u201d about homosexuality, writing: \u201cIt is clearly evident in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bibleportal.com\/verse-topic?version=ESV&amp;v=1Corinthians%206:9-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1 Corinthians 6:9-11<\/a>\u00a0what the Bible says on this matter. I do not believe you can be born gay and I do not believe homosexuality is right\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do believe that everyone sins and falls into temptation but it\u2019s 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.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bibleportal.com\/verse-topic?version=ESV&amp;v=Genesis%202:24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Genesis 2:24<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod loves everyone, just because He doesn\u2019t agree with your decisions doesn\u2019t mean He doesn\u2019t love you. Christians we need to step up and love but also tell the truth of God\u2019s word,\u201d she added. \u201cI am tired of lukewarm Christianity, be inspired to stand up for what you believe and the truth\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his tweet, Lambert asked: \u201cDo you still stand by this post? Or are you happy to remain a hypocrite? Seeing as you\u2019ve now been announced to be playing an LGBTQ character, I think you owe your LGBTQ peers an explanation. Immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Omooba\u2019s post prompted the theatre to demand a retraction from Omooba, which she declined, leading to her contract\u2019s cancelation.<\/p>\n<p>Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Omooba initiated legal action in August 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Omooba said at the time: \u201cI just quoted what the Bible says about homosexuality, the need for repentance, but ultimately God\u2019s love for all humanity. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cI have support from actors that I\u2019ve worked with, including those in same-sex relationships, who say that even though they don\u2019t agree with my views, they know that I\u2019m not hateful or malicious.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/christian-actress-ordered-to-pay-350k-over-post-on-homosexuality.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, March 17, 2024 Actress Seyi Omooba | Christian Legal Centre Seyi Omooba, a Christian actress dismissed from a stage adaptation of \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d for her alleged homophobic remarks, has lost a protracted legal battle, culminating in a directive to cover legal expenses exceeding $350,000. The controversy began [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[]},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}