The Lion King sign language interpreter claims he was fired from Broadway production for being white

A sign langage interpreter is suing a theatre accessibility programme after claiming he was fired from the Broadway production of The Lion King for being white.

Keith Wann, who interprets in American Sign Language (ASL), was allegedly contacted by the Theatre Development Fund’s accessibility programme to fill in on the theatre adaptation of the hit Disney film while their regular interpreters were unavailable.

However, Wann claims that shortly after being offered the job, he and another interpreter were asked to back out from the show because of their race.

According to reports from The New York Post, Wann was told over email that it was “no longer appropriate to have white interpreters represent Black characters for ASL Broadway shows”.

Since it first opened, The Lion King has featured a majority Black cast.

In emails seen by the publication, accessibility programme director Lisa Carling (who Wann is also suing) wrote that: “With great embarrassment and apologies, I’m asking you both to please back out of interpreting the show for us on Sunday, April 24,” Carling wrote. “I don’t see any other way out of this. It seems like the best solution.”

The Independent has contacted the Theatre Development Fund for comment.

Appearing on Fox and Friends on Monday (14 November), Wann said that he’d been asked to “come in and help out”, then rejected. He claimed that he would have been paid $1,000 (£843) per show.

Adding that he was suing the non-profit organisation and its accessibility programme director Lisa Carling because “wrong is wrong”, Wann explained: “If you insert a different color, if you insert a different race, it is wrong. You are not allowed to fire somebody because of that reason.”

Wann’s lawyers said that the fund had “pretty much” admitted over email that they had fired the interpreter due to his race.

“There is a statute… that says people have the right to contract regardless of their race,” they said.

"The statute says you can’t do that, so we want to recover the money that he would’ve been paid.”

With music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, The Lion King opened on Broadway in 1997.