Keith Wann sues TDF alleging racial discrimination over “Lion King” interpreting gig

Keith Wann sues TDF alleging racial discrimination over “Lion King” interpreting gig
Transcript: www.dailymoth.com/blog/keith-wann-sues-tdf-alleging-racial-discrimination-over-lion-king-interpreting-gig

[@arihopkins2756]

So TDF originally had 3 interpreters that were BIPOC and then two backed out, TDF contacted Keith to interpret then backed out because he was not BIPOC? Then why not hire a BIPOC person to replace the two interpreters that backed out instead of hiring someone they knew was white if that was not what they wanted in the grand scheme of things? This whole situation seems very odd.

[@cashwalk7253]

That’s what I thought too. They contacted him. That’s on them.

[@madison8613]

@@cashwalk7253 It was the Broadway director who did that, not TDF. The director overstepped.

[@stolenchildrenbycps1493]

@@cashwalk7253 I agree with you. It is on them and they should think twice. They knew that he is white because they met him before.

[@christineclick1055]

Whoa! I can't believe this story. I think Keith is right about the racial discrimination. TDF must pay the damage to him.

[@Quirkyalonester]

My question is, if it was important enough to rescind the job offer, why was it not important enough before? If he presented himself falsely, that would be one thing but I can understand being upset when you are offered a job and then its taken back through no fault of your own.

[@ak5659]

Agreed. TDF should've paid Mr. Wann's full fee in compensation for their own error.

[@deafsoda7923]

@@ak5659 yeah I totally agree on that it was there mistake and they know he white they should have know it

[@madison8613]

He was offered the job by a director for Broadway that overstepped TDF, who was in charge of hiring, and Keith was asked to step down when TDF became aware that he was White when their casting call was only meant for Black interpreters.

[@madison8613]

@@ak5659 it was not TDF's error, it was Broadway's.

[@Quirkyalonester]

@@madison8613 the director was unaware of what they were looking for? And according to the New York Post it was at the directors request that TDF contact Mr. Wann to ask him to step down later.

[@zacharyclemens6313]

I'm sorry, but the best part of this video is seeing Keith Wann's name on Zoom as "wann day at a time" lol

[@sandramapson]

I have seen both sides. I am not picking sides, but we need to discuss this. My question is why and how does this email sent Keith this? And bipoc people DO suffer from this. We need to work together. IMO.

[@sandramapson]

@Deaf KZbin white and Black is not the same body and culture. Why did the other two black interpreters were not available? That makes me wonder?

[@genevievewalsh2007]

@Deaf KZbin yeah I seriously can't imagine a court taking his lawsuit seriously it's fox news fodder and that's it

[@ninacarrasco4898]

Sue them!!

[@austinlang6946]

Seems like an appropriate solution that would have hemmed up everything is tdf going to wann offering some form of compensation, explaining the situation and asking him to help them fill in the role with an interpreter they deem appropriate. Simple as that, everyone’s happy without the scandal that’s going to cost everyone way more than the baseline compensation…..although the lion king is a Disney movie, based on a poem of an African ruler apparently “even though we all know it an accept it as a kids movies about lions” people born in America aren’t African, they are American. Not one person has the lived experience of a person in Africa unless they grew up in Africa. My point is you can take this as far down the rabbit hole you want. Are the BIPOC interpreters discriminating against an actual African interpreter who grew up in Africa? If this was something Of more serious content matter, like a play about the civil rights movement or the life of Martin Luther king or Fredrick Douglas or anyone really then I totally get and 100 percent agree with the lived experience that a culturally appropriate terp brings 100 percent. Just a messy situation.

[@shenaigundersonjamessmith7259]

I received the same email and mail letter from one of the states of Salem discriminating against me for not hiring me to work as Mental Health Therapist becuase they can't offer to provide me an interpreter. I also have struggled to find a lawyer for the disability the right of employees.

[@theresadurham3777]

Are you planning to do the follow-up with Keith for the result of the court?

[@tammycarpenter2940]

Alex I have to ask. Why did you not have an interpreter on set for the lawyer? Did I just witness the lawyer turning his head out of sight, to correct Keith at mark 9:40 in this video? That was tacky.

[@johnhancock8463]

Thank you

[@steveharrigan3425]

if I were an U.S. president in D.C. I will give out the best rights and freedom to all races to be the same to all of others no matter what and treat them the same as the law was followed and no more crime hate and they have the right to keep that job as long as they want to have and keep the law open to everyone in whole U.S.A. only if only they asked me to I will help them to keep their job no matter what it is as I know the law is for all of us thats why so I do wish I want to be the one for them like that

[@ak5659]

What TDF should've done was to include a check for Mr. Wann's full fee and made the letter one of apology. That likely would've solved the problem. Instead, TDF's handling of the situation basically invited this lawsuit. I agree a black interpreter of equal skill is a better choice. HOWEVER, I hope Mr. Wann wins his lawsuit because TDF clearly has a lesson to learn regarding how interpreters are entitled to be treated.

[@madison8613]

Unfortunately, he is likely to win because an interpreter's contract is a binding legal agreement and TDF put in writing that he was removed for something outside of his control. Also, the Broadway director who reached out to Keith and offered the job personally should not have overstepped TDF to find sub interpreters because they were unaware of culturally relative casting. Keith could have gracefully bowed out but chose a path that will win his suit and ruin his career simultaneously.

[@stolenchildrenbycps1493]

@@madison8613 I agree. Also the law protect him as a white person and the contract is become clause. TDF is idiot.

[@felixjohnston3402]

“I agree a black interpreter of equal skill is a better choice” the fact you think this is a remotely acceptable opinion is mind blowing.

[@nomie3607]

CODA ally here! Having a black Deaf mother and father the last thing either of them complained about was wether the interpreter at my school productions was black or not. Wann is right, in a time where if this was a different race or even gender, we would no be sitting here discussing this as a debate. TDF is wrong. Interpreting is about getting the best qualified wether they are of color or not. anyone out to chastise this man is a complete hypocrite and not a true advocate of the Deaf community. I am currently going through my ITP and unfortunately there is just not a lot of black interpreters in the class with me. Hell theres barely any men straight or not. The class is full of middle aged caucasian cis women. So to be mad at him is to be mad at a system from the start is not diverse. I would be pissed to know that an interpreter of his stature was denied work b/c his color is wrong.... its about effective communication....stop trying to make this political he made the right move suing the company. I was told by a teacher how importat it was for me to stay in just b/c i would get jobs over people for simply being black..... that is wrong.

[@hannahmarie3161]

Agree 110%. I’m so glad you said this. Interpreting is about conveying a message faithfully, staying true to speaker affect, being respectful and professional, etc etc. It doesn’t have to be so damn political. It sucks.

[@angiesoddities8692]

Yes!! I agree with both of you!!

[@LowellBDennyIII]

What TDF wrote in that email was not only stupid but actionable, and they were wrong. And being wrong sometimes cost you money as a penalty. Keith should win, and it seems all he is asking for is the fee he was promised. But Keith is also making it much worse on all concerned by going through with this. Yes, he should win the suit, but he's wrong to file it. It's kind of sad to see someone so lacking self-reflection as a white professional vis-a-vis Black professionals. The races in this country - a white-settler country, like Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe {Rhodesia}, Australia, and New Zealand - are not equal where we can say "wrong is wrong," as Keith kept saying. You'd have to be really disconnected from material reality to say, for example, that a Palestinian in Gaza and an Israeli in Tel Aviv; or a Xhosa woman in Johannesburg and a descendant of Dutch or British settlers in Cape Town were all equal to each other. But the TDF email also shows how poorly versed our white liberal friends are in setting up structures to benefit Black people and marginalized racial minorities. They're sloppy .. I'm recalling the report you did, Alex, on that media company hiring a deaf man's "interpreter." These people are sloppy and their solidarity with Black people is very, very shallow.

[@jeanarmstrong4182]

What an insult for you to accuse Keith lacking in self reflection. This is a country of laws, a Republic. Equality is that the law applies equality to all regardless of skin color (or culture). They discriminated against him because of his skin color, and you don't seem to mind. That perspective is morally inferior. As a man of integrity he's required to advocate that people and companies treat him lawfully.

[@LowellBDennyIII]

@@jeanarmstrong4182 you write like a person who doesn't know how to use big words, so you probably can't grasp big concepts either. If this were a country of laws, if equality applied as you pretend it does, why the f*ck are Black men the overwhelming predominant in prisons; why are Black women more likely to die in childbirth than white women; why is the limitation to medical care by Black gay men spreading HIV where among white gays it has dropped; why are our wages consistently disproportionately LOWER than whites; why are our statistical outcomes below - why all this despite the abolition of chattel slavery over 150 years ago and the Voting Rights Act which was only passed in 1965? I think just proved yourself to be a worse human being than Keith. As far as escalating this to a lawsuit, every conflict doesn't necessitate a gun, pilgrim.

[@madison8613]

@@jeanarmstrong4182 it is not discriminatory because the interpreter code of conduct states that interpreters need to respect and promote consumer requests for THEIR interpreting. The problem here is that Keith is making this about himself and as an interpreter it is NEVER about you. It is always about the empowerment of Deaf people and other minorities.

[@jeanarmstrong4182]

@@madison8613 I respectfully disagree. While I agree the deaf on an individual bases should be allow to pick their interpreter of preference, agencies must not discriminate based on skin color, it is illegal because it is immoral. One would have to question, when presented with equal interpreter skills, if the color of one's skin has any effect on the message? The "empowerment" that interpreters offer is that of equal access to communication. One should not use the code of conduct to encourage racial prejudice among deaf clients or to impune an interpreter wanting to be treated lawful. I do appreciate your comment as it's important to think through the application of ethics.

[@hartmutteuber8022]

The missing link in this dispute is the consumer or requestor portion. Nothing is said in the suit what the people in "The Lion's King" (hencefort called "Theater) want. The issue is between K.Wann and TDF. TDF simply wants to correct the error of having offered the job to Wan. Possibly after consulting with the Theater, who most likely expressed their preference for a Black interpreter. Since there is a Black interpreter available in NYC, TDF feels compelled to withdraw the offer by writing that a Black interpreter is requested by the Theater. It seems that TDF used poor wording like "you are White", with which Wann takes issue..

[@JohnDoe-oo9ll]

Even in that case, the final decision would have been based off of race. The fact that it was written only SHOWS the underlying reasoning for their actions.

[@josephgeisser111]

Keith, you did the right thing. Good job.

[@samholden5337]

Keith you doing WRONG! I will do everything in my power ensure they’re a BLACKBALL on you! Here I come! #BLACKBALLkeith#

[@jacquelinealbert9186]

NOPE that wannabe did not do a good job

[@MarleneHen]

Thank you, Alex. You did a great job of finding well-expressed opinions, as well as getting the facts. Honestly, I think it's so strange that racism is still a thing. Three of my kids are half-black, and we/they have never had any problems. Probably someday. At the root of racism is a lack of understanding. Racism was probably not the issue here at all. A violated contract was. The company could've found another way to handle it - multiple ways.

[@cashwalk7253]

If the company wanted a black person to represent them, they should have done that in the first place, not offered a job to a white person and then back out on it. I’m all for having a black signer for the Lion King, but offering a job and receding the offer was the illegal part.

[@MarleneHen]

@@cashwalk7253 Yep, I agree. But I am assuming that what other people are guessing - that the Deaf person attending the event expressed that they wanted a Black interpreter - is actually what happened. They were probably trying to honor a Deaf person's request. There were several ways to handle it, and they made a bad choice. Makes me think of the baby stroller commercial incident. A different thing happened there, but again, a poor choice was made by the employer.

[@guyman1570]

@@MarleneHen The contract termination occurred almost a full month prior to the event itself. No Deaf BIPOC were ever consulted in this decision process.

[@MarleneHen]

@@guyman1570 You might be right. But it's also possible that a Deaf person purchased a ticket and made a specific interpreter request that early. When my husband buys tickets to shows like that, he buys them months in advance in case they sell out or in case the last remaining seats aren't a good fit for our family. When we got tickets for years in Toronto, there would be phone conversations that include WHERE the interpreters would be.

[@donnamullis3138]

Why TDF ask Keith first place, I don't understand it. Is TDF racist?

[@rubygriffin4318]

Thank you again ,Alex . Alex is great job on the Daily news . 👏 Keith wann is good interpret. 👍

[@theresadurham8857]

I strongly believe that it is a case of discrimination. It was very wrong of them to tell Keith the reason why they want to terminate him as the interpreter was because he is white, the color of his skin in the email.

[@hannahmarie3161]

Exactly. I agree

[@bethabdallah6518]

Are you Deaf? Are you Black?

[@hannahmarie3161]

I support Keith Wann. Wrong is wrong and the email he received was blatant discrimination. If the roles were reversed and a Black interpreter was hired to interpret for an all-white cast, then his job offer was rescinded because he wasn’t white, y’all would flip out. It would be mutiny. Why? Because it’s blatant discrimination. No matter what race you insert into the equation. But why do we have to politicize this at all? Why can’t we just enjoy the damn Lion King, enjoy the skills of our qualified interpreters, and move on with our damn lives. Race is only an issue cause y’all make it an issue. Just stop

[@taliaking5052]

Keith wann is so nervess

[@genevievewalsh2007]

Towards the end of that interview his signing space got smaller and smaller, def nervous af

[@jessicalosoya2838]

Another any color ski. interpreter better than Keith Wann. Important match act and poem signs from song or act on stage

[@sister_niches]

Keith needs to check his “white privilege” - where’s your code of ethics? SMH

[@guyman1570]

TDF needs to check their hearing privileges. None of the Deaf BIPOCs were ever consulted in this decision making process.

[@stolenchildrenbycps1493]

@@guyman1570 nothing to do with white privilege and the law protect him as white person as everyone else. The main point is that TDF knew that he is white because he was training in 2007. Also other BIPOC interpreters was not available and they don't have no choice to hired him. TDF is fucked up.

[@angiesoddities8692]

Agree Guy Man!!!

[@MrJamesVanEngen]

I think Mr. Wann is doing well to help take corrective action against wrongdoing. The interviewer in this report asks difficult questions, and Mr. Wann answers them well. If Mr. Wann was additionally acting in the play as a character then I might be less supportive, but he is not a paid actor (or actress if the interpreter were female) in the situation. Mr. Wann is an interpreter, thus his role in the entertainment offered differs. Best to all of you and yours in such difficult times! 🙂🦿

[@meh154]

I don’t think a lot of you realize well enough. Thurgood Marshall IS an AFRICAN AMERICAN! If he agreed to it and passed the law to adjusted it then that means he realized there is a loophole that can be abused by many people. Secondly, did you know that The Lion King was wrote by white people?? By your argument and your concept against white interpreters taking this role job for interpreting because it “belongs” to the black culture. Ok sure fine, but then you might as well want to toss this King Lion story because it was created by white people. Outlining the title King Lion and let black writers to create a new story about King Lion 🤷🏼‍♂️ Do you know how this sounds ridiculous when you are bringing it up to counterintuitive the whole of meaning “racism”….

[@guyman1570]

@Deaf KZbin No Deaf BIPOC were ever consulted in this decision process. TDF needs to check their hearing privilege. I'm not agreeing with Keith Wann and his toxicity (regarding his behavior outside this particular case), by the way. TDF do *not* speak for the Deaf BIPOC community when they're operated by the hearing people.

[@meh154]

@Deaf KZbin yikes, your argument does not mean anything what I said. Both are irrelevant. Read again what I said and what I meant.

[@tammycarpenter2940]

Keith you said “Time froze” when you got that email. That “time stopped”. Does this mean you “froze” “stop” your education your growth as an interpreter and as a advocate for all Deaf people?

[@gwendolynlathe5415]

no no he means when he read cause himself in shock « word stop his mind » and ask lawyer - he got got mindboggled races - our thought races means colour means no white allowed to be included as race?

[@angiesoddities8692]

No, that is not what he meant.

[@pitafun]

Wann just been on high roller platforms. So tired of him. He lost his humor personally long time ago. Move on Wann.

[@felixjohnston3402]

Just come out and say you think racism is okay to apply to whites

[@angiesoddities8692]

Disagree.. Keith has great stories..

[@jjochems]

If Keith wanted to sue TDF, that’s his choice even though I think it’s unethical. What’s unforgivable is that he went to the press with it. Worse, he choose blatantly right wing news who are going to distort facts to suit him because he wants to make more money from this. This is not the first time he’s been greedy. He has brought the political culture war into our interpreting profession and the worse part is that he’s going to make anyone who learns about his lawsuit think twice about hiring interpreters in the future which is going to hurt access for the deaf. If an interpreter wants to be a pain in the ass to the people who pay them, don’t do it where the whole world can see it!

[@timmyholland8510]

You think discrimination is a secret that shouldn't be aired and knowing should be censored?

[@felixjohnston3402]

@@timmyholland8510yes, that’s exactly what the poster of this hateful reply thinks, because they hate white people

[@Dory014]

I side with Keith Wann period why in first place TDF asked him to interp then asked him to back off in email??

[@robertcarey9121]

LAW IS LAW!! RULE IS RULE!! COMMON SENSE IS COMMON SENSE!! What more do we need to do something about it and nobody is happy in this world sad!! I am with Keith Wann so be it!

[@genkur2912]

Keith is a good professional interpreter.

[@ricbonillasjr2567]

Damn right! It is obviously racist of color.

[@jacquelinealbert9186]

Hell No

[@tiarajackson2051]

Mad at Loin king only black Cultures!? Besides they are similar likely black history including black interpret, too. Not white interpret like more activity and more facial or dance hip hop culture. Sue them!? Are you serious Keith!? I’m lost speechless 😶

[@logan7lion644]

Yes, but there 3 black interpret there which not available so they ask to Keith for it but why did they ask him in the first place?

[@tiarajackson2051]

@Deaf KZbin Agreed with you, I believe whites interpret using black deaf who’s actor or dance that they are skilled but they tried to stolen their Black History “our Way”. God is not acceptable that Evil one, periodt! God knows … trust me I know him !

[@dianesquires9987]

Keith has a nerve. Wow.

[@sherylbender9049]

I agree with Keith Wann. They are wrong.. he is right. Shoulder all same . No matter what interpreter white China, Indian, no matter. They should be shameful for show about interpreter. What wrong with them. Wow. I support Keith Wann. Period!!

[@bethabdallah6518]

All of you supporting Keith...how many of you are Deaf, a professional ASL interpreter, and/or Black? If you're not any of those things, you don't know the full extent of the damage this situation causes. TDF poorly worded an email. Whoever wrote that email needs some guidance on diplomacy. But jumping straight to getting a lawyer and running to Fox News...dude, that was a big mistake. This could've been handled so much more ethically and without the damage to Keith's reputation because trust me, it's been damaged.

[@genevievewalsh2007]

Ugh yeah. I can't help but see his actions as an overstep. There are so many black interpreters so why does he have to feel entitled to a role that is better done by one of them? True, the situation is fucked up and I think it's worth complaining about but a lawsuit no.

[@jessicalosoya2838]

👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼Keith Wann not because of his color skin and his interpreter weird to me I did watching his KZbin weird to me.

[@ricbonillasjr2567]

I am on Keith Want’s side… this is wrong

[@cherokeenative8354]

It is not about racism. The lion King is black characters . It is not against him. He need to learn black America Sign Language BASL if he do that he will understand why it is different than white and black language. It is not about him as white it is important to have cultures in there . Come give me a break there nothing racism about it, all is about his privilege

[@charlesgerety1403]

Then why is a black girl playing the Little Mermaid? Stop stealing our stories and characters Black people

[@emjots]

God, you whiny "reverse racism" babies are all so annoying