Trans 'Hamilton' Performer Alleges Retaliation Over Gender-Neutral Dressing Room Request
A cast member from Hamilton is speaking out.
Deadline writes that Suni Reid, a non-binary performer who appeared in the Broadway, Chicago and Los Angeles productions of the hit show in ensemble and principal roles, has filed a complaint with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Click inside to find out more about the filing…
In the filing, they allege that their contract was not renewed in response to a request for a gender-neutral dressing room for the LA production.
Suni‘s attorneys, Lawrence M. Pearson and Lindsay M. Goldbrum of Wigdor LLP, said in a statement, “Publicly, Hamilton is a beacon of diversity and appears committed to causes seeking social justice and harmony. Behind the curtain, however, the Company’s management will force out a Black, transgender cast member simply because they stood up for themselves and advocated for a more equitable workplace, and therefore called that public image into question.”
They continued, “We look forward to upholding Mx. Reid’s rights and hope this is a wake-up call for the theater industry about the systemic inequities that persist even at its greatest heights.”
The complaint claims that Suni made a “made a legally protected request” last June for a gender-neutral dressing room at the theater where Hamilton plays.
“Weeks later,” according to their attorneys, “Hamilton suspended the renewal of Mx. Reid’s contract, sidelining them during rehearsals, previews, and finally opening night and beyond.”
Suni sought legal counsel and informed the production of their claims in late July. By September 2021, the production told the performer that their contract wouldn’t be renewed.
The filing also adds that the show supplied the gender-neutral dressing room after Rory O’Malley, who plays King George in the show, “generously offered to give up his dressing room, but the Company still would not drop its retaliatory animus toward Mx. Reid and rescinded their contract renewal offer altogether.”
Suni alleges that they experienced additional instances of harassment and discrimination, “including incidents in which certain actors physically threatened Mx. Reid or intentionally and repeatedly mis-gendered them.”
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