A sign-language interpreter performing in a Broadway production of The Lion King has allegedly been fired for being white.
Keith Wann, 53, claims that he was removed from the show because the director did not want white actors representing black characters.
By black characters, of course, we mean African animals – because this is The Lion King. A black person can perform sign language for talking African animals, but a white person cannot. This should be obvious, apparently.
The show’s sign language director Shelly Guy said that the interpreter ‘is not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King’.
One is tempted to reply that none of the actors are animals and therefore should not be representing lions. But that’s just me being logically consistent, something the left does not understand.
Imagine how angry Shelly Guy will be when she discovers the entire musical was written by a couple of white guys (Elton John and Tim Rice).
Throw ‘Circle of Life’ in the bin and scrap ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’.
Get a black piano player to write a black tune! And while he’s at it, the tune should only include sharps and flats. Natural notes are racist.
‘Keith Wann, though an amazing ASL performer, is not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King,’ the director said.
Wann was perfect for the job, just the wrong colour.
The key to understanding this, as always, is to consider how the situation would be received if it was reversed. Imagine the outrage if a ‘white show’ insisted on a white interpreter.
When Wann took the theatre company to court, alleging discrimination, he was vilified by the black signing community.
Deaf talk show host Randy Spann wrote of Wann: ‘You disgust me. Let black people get their opportunities to get a spotlight.’
Deaf performer Raven Sutton put out a TikTok video condemning Wann.
‘This is not discrimination,’ Sutton said. ‘Reverse racism is not a thing. Stop taking all the jobs when we have black interpreters that are the better fit. Wipe your own white tears because we are not going to do it for you.’
Like I always say, there’s no racism quite like anti-racism.
Wann should have replied with a sign universally understood across the world. Instead, he did what most people do when persecuted by the Woke – he equivocated.
‘For those of you who know me, you know I have deep roots in the Deaf community and, as my true friends and wife can attest, I have been an ally to the BIPOC community for decades.’
And for good measure, Wann added that his wife was Latina.
Honestly, who even cares? When you are sacked for being white you don’t say that it’s wrong because you have black friends and a wife who is a lovely shade of brown.
Being sacked for being white is wrong even if all your friends are pale and your wife is albino.
Wann has since settled his case with the theatre company, receiving an unspecified sum. The colour of equality is green.
Speaking of which, the directors of Shrek the Musical are looking for a green interpreter.
On a serious note, Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of a land in which people are judged by the content of their character rather than by the colour of their skin is being vaporised by progressives who seem hell-bent on returning to the days of segregation.
Hakuna Matata? Not a chance. This evil must be continually called out.
When will people stop apologising and feeding on projected guilt for being white. Time to take a stand for being, well, part of the human race whatever colour you may be. After all we are all made in God’s image - that’s worth celebrating 👏
Perhaps the producers need to place a sign or warning along their ticket office stating "white people not welcome ". I do hope theatre goers have the intelligence to vote with their feet and their wallets.