Rockmond Dunbar, an original cast member for 911, has been granted a trial for his religious discrimination lawsuit against Disney-subsidiary 20th Television, which allegedly fired him after he refused to take the coronavirus vaccine.
Dunbar, a member of the Church of Universal Wisdom, asked that 20th Television grant him a religious exemption from receiving the vaccine, claiming he had a “sincerely held religious belief.”
“The trial will assess whether he had a sincerely held religious belief within the meaning of civil rights laws that conflicted with the vaccine mandate and if reasonable accommodations could have been offered, allowing him to continue acting on the series without endangering others or causing undue hardship to the studio,” noted The Hollywood Reporter (THR).
Dunbar alleged Disney fired him after the mega-corporation denied his religious exemption, claiming he “was not a true believer in the Church of Universal Wisdom.”
“It appears that Disney vetted exemption applications on a case-by-case basis, investigating whether the religions constituted true religious institutions and whether applicants actually followed the beliefs,” noted THR.
Rockman Dunbar meets the press (Photo by David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee comes after a Los Angeles judge ruled in February that Disney’s ABC may have discriminated against two former General Hospital crewmembers who were both fired after refusing the vaccine on religious grounds.
20th Television has continued to insist Dunbar did not sincerely hold to the tenets of the Church of Universal Wisdom by previously undergoing certain medical procedures roughly a year before the vaccine was introduced.
In an Instagram post over the weekend, Dunbar praised God for the recent ruling, adding he had been “attacked” both publicly and privately for his beliefs.
“It took 2.5 yrs of being attacked publicly and privately, judged, defamed, and lied on simply for daring to follow MY religion and God’s direction for MY life. Millions in legal costs just to get my rightful day in court. I’ve lost jobs, associates and ‘fans’ but what I’ve never lost is my FAITH and FAMILY,” he said.
“Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons. And I’m still standing. Stronger. Healthy. with my soul and integrity intact. And despite this nightmare me and my family have weathered, I would make the same choice again bc nothing and no one on this Earth is or will ever be greater than The Most High. I thank God for choosing me to see clearly and live fearlessly in my faith bc when all you have is money you will most definitely die broke and broken,” he continued.
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