Black sign language interpreter fired from all-white cast

eddie murphy figured out a way around the colored ban, but that was then

No, of course that didn’t happen; that would be illegal, and subject the employer to ruinous fines and civil penalties. On the other hand …

Lion King sign language interpreter Keith Warren says he was fired for being white

Keith Wann, 53, was one of at least two people forced off the production by the non-profit Theatre Development Fund – which staffs Broadway shows with American Sign Language interpreters – after the group decided it was “no longer appropriate to have white interpreters represent black characters for ASL Broadway shows.”

Wann filed a federal discrimination lawsuit on Tuesday against the organization and the director of its accessibility programs, Lisa Carling.

Carling told him and interpreter Christina Mosleh to “back out” of the show — which celebrates its 25th anniversary on Sunday — so they could be replaced by black sign-language experts, according to the suit and emails obtained by The Post.

“The majority of the characters in the Lion King are black actors and the content takes place in Africa,” Guy wrote Carling on April 1.

“Keith Wann, though an amazing ASL performer, is not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King,” she declared.

The good news? The show is a Disney production, so at least there’s a deep pocket here from which to extract damages.

(h/t, “Northern Reader”)