Black actress sues Broadway company for discrimination and retaliation after being denied a wig
Zuri Washington was set to complete a tour for the revival of the "1776" musical, which began last February. Her contract was terminated last week.
Black actress Zuri Washington is suing a major Broadway tour, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation after she requested to wear a wig on stage to protect her natural hair.
“I love my natural hair, but [producers] don’t realize what wearing my natural hair for eight shows a week entails,” Washington told the Los Angeles Times.
Washington was set to complete a national tour for the recent revival of the “1776” Broadway musical, which began in February 2023. The original theatrical classic, known to stage an all-white cast due to the show’s premise, depicts the Founding Fathers of the United States and the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. However, the reimagination of the musical went against the traditional route and diversified its actors by including different gender identities and performers of multicultural backgrounds.
The contract of Washington — who was cast to play Robert Livingston — was terminated last week once she filed her complaint against the production companies NETworks Presentations and 1776 Touring and some of their staff members. She alleges that her termination resulted from expressing her plan to submit official reports of discrimination against the tour’s production firms, the Times reported.
“I was made to feel like I did something wrong in the course of this entire experience, and I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” Washington said. “I could have done things differently, perhaps. But what they did to me is like a legal version of tone-policing, and like I’m being constantly punished for existing and telling my truth.”
It was crucial to Washington to have the option of wearing a protective style in “1776” because of her previous traumatizing hair experience while on tour for the show “Hairspray,” she said. The actress shared that she was devastated, cutting her locs to ear length after almost undergoing hair loss due to the various climate conditions she was exposed to while traveling and performing.
“I promised myself never again would I leave the fate of my hair, something that’s so close to me and that I care about so much, up to other people,” Washington contended. “And given the ethos of the production, I was hoping I would feel secure and supported by the team behind the scenes.”
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She claimed to have contacted the tour’s management after being selected in December 2022 to communicate her uneasiness about wearing her natural hair and preference for wearing a wig or getting a braided style. Though she sent several emails to gain clarity and finalize the show’s hair plans, no one responded to her messages.
By the time Washington received an answer about the course of action for her hairstyle, the cast had already arrived in Utica, New York, for the tour’s first stop. Washington said her request for a wig, alongside those of her other castmates of color who made the same request, had been denied despite her white castmates being provided with them.
Now, through her lawsuit, Washington is fighting to hold the “1776” production company and staff accountable for their bias. She said she hopes being vocal about her experience will encourage other actors to speak up for themselves in discriminatory environments.
“I used to think I’m the only one this has happened to, and it’s so uncomfortable to hash through the stories,” Washington said. “But if I can make a difference in this way, it will have been worth it.”
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