Who is Keith Wann? Sign language interpreter sues ‘Lion King’ for being allegedly fired over skin color

Comedian and performance artist Keith Wann said that his skin color was the reason why he was removed from The Lion King on Broadway. Keith was one of two people asked to leave the play after the nonprofit Theater Development Fund stated that they would not allow white interpreters to represent black characters in ASL Broadway shows.

Wann recently filed a lawsuit against the director of accessibility programs, Lisa Carling, on charges of discrimination on November 8. The New York Post obtained the lawsuit and emails in which Carling asked Wann and interpreter Christina Mosleh to stop performing so that they could be replaced by black sign language professionals. Speaking about the lawsuit, he told the publication:

“To me, just seeing that discrimination, it doesn’t matter if I’m white or black. This is blatant and I would just hope that other people who have also experienced this would step forward.”

Keith Wann was asked to work on the play in March of this year. He was shocked when Carling sent him and another interpreter an email asking them to drop out of the show. The email stated:

“With great embarrassment and apologies, I’m asking you both to please back out of interpreting the show for us on Sunday, April 24. I don’t see any other way out of this. It seems like the best solution.”

Carling decided to remove Wann after the ASL director for The Lion King, Shelly Guy, asked her to remove the non-black interpreters. Guy told Carling in April 2022 that most of the characters in the play were black actors and the premise was set in Africa. Guy stated that, while Wann is a fantastic performer, he is not black and thus should not play the Lion King.

Keith Wann was fired the next day, which could have paid him $1,000 for his performance. He stopped responding to Carling's emails and phone calls while he deliberated on what to do before deciding to take the matter to the Manhattan Federal Court. Mosleh is yet to respond, whereas other involved parties such as Theatre Development Fund, Carling, Guy, and Disney Theatrical Productions have declined to comment.

---

Keith Wann has been associated with ASL for a long time

Keith Wann was born on January 4, 1969, to deaf parents. He made his debut by performing with ASL improve group in 2002 and pursued his solo career in 2004. He later became famous for a YouTube ASL video parody rendition of Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby.

Keith Wann is a comedian and performance artist (Image via keithwann/Instagram)

Keith Wann is a performing ASL artist who has appeared in several short films. He also has been featured in various commercials for Pepsi and shows like Law & Order and Quantico. He is currently a writer and actor for Sign It! American Sign Language Made Easy. Wann even travels to the United States to perform his solo show and the ASL comedy tour every weekend.

He also teaches workshops and has been an ASL advocate. Wann and his wife Emilia joined LegalShield as independent associates and are currently traveling around the nation to offer easy access to the legal system to the ASL community.

Wann also teaches at workshops and several ASL students have used his monthly ASL song club to learn sign language in an artistic way. He has interpreted many Broadway shows like School of Rock, Noises Off, West Side Story, Shrek: The Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, and more.

Keith Wann worked with Sia on her music video, Soon We’ll Be Found and as an ASL performer, he has produced many solo shows alongside hosting the ASL Comedy Tour for a decade.