Broadway is becoming the 'Great Woke Way'
American Sign Language interpreter Keith Wann alleges he was fired from his job at 'The Lion King' because he is White
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A White sign language interpreter claims he was fired from "The Lion King" Broadway musical because producers wanted a person of color translating the dialogue of the mostly Black cast.
If the allegation proves true, there's NO DOUBT Americans would vote for this as "the most ridiculous social justice crusade of the year." Although there is SOME DOUBT those votes would be counted on time in Arizona and Nevada.
53-year-old Keith Wann has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the non-profit Theater Development Fund, which staffs Broadway plays with American Sign Language interpreters. His filing includes an email from the group's head of staffing stating that although "he was an amazing ASL performer, he is not a black person and therefore should not be representing the Lion King as the majority of characters are black actors and the content takes place in Africa."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sign language interpreter Keith Wann joins 'FOx and Friends' on Nov. 14, 2022. The Minskoff Theatre advertises "The Lion King" on West 44th street between Broadway and Eighth avenue. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
So, if you're keeping score at home, Broadway, aka the Great Woke Way, does not want a White man signing the words of Black actors in a pretend story called "The Lion King" because that's some sort of cultural appropriation. Yet it's perfectly fine to have Black actors portraying the White men who founded this country in "Hamilton."
It's a double standard big enough to drive an oversized SUV through but be careful because it'll cost you $200 bucks to park it in Times Square.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This brings me to my next point. There are so many things to be offended by at a Broadway play, from the large cost of attending to the small size of the seats, that I don't think anyone had the sign language interpreter's skin color in their top ten. Seriously. I'm still paying interest on a hot pretzel I bought my son at the "SpongeBob" musical, and that play was canceled in 2018. If we're really looking for justice, let's get MasterCard on the phone.
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Our country is being plagued by a scourge of cultural arsonists on the left who like to set racial fires simply so they can extinguish them and claim valor or virtue for doing so.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's a self-serving effort to claim moral superiority by pointing out to the world that they're more in tune with the suffering of minority communities than the rest of us.
We saw this two years ago when a San Francisco school district was exploring the possibility of removing Abraham Lincoln's name off a high school because in their eyes he hadn't done enough to demonstrate that Black lives mattered to him.
In the end, it went nowhere because it's hard to racially gaslight the country over the president who ended slavery. But, things got so dicey in the summer of 2020 that my son Lincoln started going by his middle name, O.J.
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The problem with these woke crusades is every attempt to highlight their connection to minority communities showcases just how out of touch they are with the real struggles.
FILE -- Director/Producer Jon Favreau attends the World Premiere of Disney's "THE LION KING" at the Dolby Theatre on July 09, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Removing Abe Lincoln's name from a high school wouldn't help any inner-city kid boost the failing test scores which have become a nationwide disaster after two years of virtual learning and lockdowns. And changing the sign language interpreter at "The Lion King" won't do anything to end the inner city violence and the runaway inflation that's crushing people at the neighborhood bodega. Or as Jill Biden famously called it, the "bo-ge-dah."
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So, to put it in "Lion King" terms, let's hope that when the judge rules that these producers "Can't Feel The Love Tonight" and that performative stupidity, like firing a white sign language interpreter for their skin color, has a very short "Circle of Life."
Because if we're seriously going to embrace this woke world order, every Black actor would be fired from "Hamilton" and replaced with a White man. And every person of every color should be fired from "The Lion King" and replaced with an actual lion. Good luck getting insurance for THAT play.
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