'Homophobic' Actress Dropped From THE COLOR PURPLE Plans To Sue

As we previously reported, actress Oluwaseyi (Seyi) Omooba was removed from Leicester Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome's revival of musical The Color Purple after West End Hamilton actor Aaron Lee Lambert shared a screenshot of her 2014 Facebook post. The post quickly went viral, resulting in a social media outcry with many calling the actress homophobic.

In the post, Omooba said she did not believe people could be "born gay", and described homosexuality as a sin - "legal" but not "right". Lambert questioned how she could possibly star as Celie in this important LBGTQ+ work while holding such views.

Now, the Mail on Sunday reports that Omooba claims she is a victim of religious discrimination. Omooba says she is no longer invited to auditions and has been unable to find a new agent, so she has instructed lawyers to file for breach of contract against the Curve Theatre and her former agents Michael Garrett Associates. She is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.

Omooba says she is not "homophobic", claiming she was just quoting "what the Bible says about homosexuality" and "the need for repentance, but ultimately God's love for all humanity". She stands by her words, but says if she'd known "it would come to this", she would have set her Facebook account to privacy mode.

Michael Garrett Associates have yet to comment, but Leicester's Curve Theatre said it stood by an earlier joint statement with the Birmingham Hippodrome, which said: "The comments made by Seyi have caused significant and widely expressed concerns both on social media and in the wider press. Following careful reflection, it has been decided Seyi will no longer be involved with the production."