Hamilton.Photo: Bruce Glikas/Getty Images
A transgender performer is alleging to have been fired from theHamiltoncast after asking for gender-neutral dressing room options, an accusation the production team denies.
Reid “experienced frequent incidents of discrimination and harassment” behind the scenes of the show, the documents say, and “much of this harassment occurred in the dressing spaces for male performers that Mx. Reid had to use.”
“Multiple other” cast members “expressed interest in using a gender-neutral dressing room” when Reid made a case for the accommodations being added to the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, according to the complaint.
Hamiltonallegedly offered to section off part of the dressing room with a curtain, which Reid said “was not an adequate solution,” prompting management to begin “looking for reasons to cut off its relationship” with Reid, the complaint alleges.
AHamiltonspokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Suni Reid was a valued cast member for more than three years. We offered them a contract to return toHamiltonwith terms responsive to their requests. We deny the allegations in the Charge. We have not discriminated or retaliated against Suni.”
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“Since the shutdown, our organizationhas taken care of our community,” the statement continued. “We have treated Suni with the same respect and consideration as all the company members ofHamilton. Specifically, we have given Suni direct financial support, paid for their health insurance, and paid for their housing. We wish Suni well in their future endeavors.”
Lawrence M. Pearson and Lindsay M. Goldbrum, attorneys for Reid, said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Publicly,Hamiltonis 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. 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.”
source: people.com
