A white sign-language interpreter for the Broadway hit The Lion King is suing Theatre Development Fund (TDF) for allegedly firing him based on his race. Keith Wann, 53, filed his lawsuit suit against the non-profit TDF for discrimination.
The federal discrimination lawsuit was filed against both TDF and the director of accessibility programs for the non-profit, Lisa Carling.
The TDF is responsible for placing American Sign Language interpreters in Broadway shows. Plaintiff Wann claims he and another interpreter were asked to leave the hit Broadway show ‘The Lion King’ because they were white.
Wann alleges he was told by TDF that it is “no longer appropriate to have white interpreters represent black characters for ASL Broadway shows.”
Wann said discrimination applies to all races.
"To me, just seeing that discrimination, it doesn't matter if I'm white or black,” he noted.
The lawsuit states Carling asked two white language interpreters, including Wann and Christina Mosleh, to leave The Lion King so TDF could replace them with two Black sign-language interpreters.
Wann said, "This is blatant and I would just hope that other people who have also experienced this would step forward.”
A report in the New York Post shared a letter sent to Wann and Mosleh from Carling that said, "With great embarrassment and apologies, I'm asking you both to please back out of interpreting the show for us on Sunday, April 24. I don't see any other way out of this. It seems like the best solution.”
Wann, a seasoned decades-long language interpreter on Broadway, appeared with his attorney on Fox News, saying that Wann received the email from Carling and was shocked.
“I just looked at it and said, ‘What they’re saying here — I think this is illegal,” said Wann.
Emails uncovered and published widely show communications from the director of The Lion King’s American Sign Language Shelly Guy to Carling on April 1. The emails say, in part, “The majority of the characters in the Lion King are black actors, and the content takes place in Africa. Keith Wann, though an amazing ASL performer, is not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King.”
Wann reportedly was told on April 2 that would no longer be working for The Lion King. His pay for each performance was $1,000.
After the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution abolished slavery in December 1865, a federal anti-discrimination statute was written. This statute protected former slaves and all Black people from discrimination in work or businesses. In 1976, the Supreme Court extended this statute to white people. The lawsuit claims the dismissal of both white language interpreters is a violation of a federal civil rights law, 42 USC, Section 1981.
The lawsuit alleges the TDF “prevented (Wann) from freely contracting his services as an ASL interpreter because of his race.”
In an interview on The Daily Moth, Wann said he is confident they will win the lawsuit.
"I am very confident that we will prevail in court. This is not reverse discrimination,” he noted.
If Wann wins his lawsuit, he may receive $1,000 in compensatory damages and reimbursement of legal fees and other related expenses.
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