The ASL interpreter who was fired from Broadway’s “Lion King,” allegedly for being white, settled his federal discrimination case against the theater company that terminated him, the New York Post reported.
Two weeks after Keith Wann filed his lawsuit on November 8, 2022, against the nonprofit Theater Development Fund that provides ASL interpreters at Broadway shows, they resolved the dispute outside of court, The New York Post reported. (RELATED: Sign Language Interpreter Sues Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’ After Allegedly Getting Fired For Being White)
A sign-language interpreter was booted from Broadway’s Lion King for his skin colour — only to be told to “wipe your white tears” after he sued for discrimination.https://t.co/hLjqrJ9WND
— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) November 27, 2022
“The matter between myself and TDF has been resolved and both parties are satisfied with the discussions that ensued,” Wann wrote in a Facebook post announcing the settlement. “I look forward to the review of the process that will come from this to hopefully benefit the interpreting profession.”
Wann and another interpreter, Christina Mosleh, were fired in April so they could be replaced by black sign-language experts, The New York Post learned.
“Keith Wann, though an amazing ASL performer, is not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King,” Shelly Guy, the director of ASL for “The Lion King,” told Lisa Carling, the director of the Theatre Development Fund’s accessibility programs, in an email, the Post reported.