A Black transgender former cast member of "Hamilton" has filed a complaint against the hit musical, accusing other performers of harassing, physically threatening and intentionally and repeatedly mis-gendering them.
Suni Reid, a "Hamilton" cast member for more than two years, filed a complaint Wednesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the parent company of the Broadway hit, Eliza Tour and Adventureland LLC, which "handles contractual negotiations and other corporative administrative matters."
Shortly after they asked for management to set up a gender-neutral dressing room at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, Reid said the musical "refused to renew their contract" last month, according to the complaint.
"Unfortunately, during Mx. Reid's years with the show, which purports to be an icon of diversity, they have experienced frequent incidents of discrimination and harassment from cast members and management of Hamilton based upon their race, sexual orientation/LGBTQ+ status, gender, and gender identity," the complaint reads.
Reid also alleged in the complaint management "failed to act when certain actors physically threatened or intentionally and repeatedly mis-gendered Mx. Reid, who was open about being transgender/non-binary." They added that most of the harassment occurred in the dressing rooms for male performers that Mx. Reid used as a cast member in New York and Chicago.
It wasn't until fellow cast member Rory O'Malley, who plays King George, offered to give up his private dressing room that a gender-neutral dressing room was established at the Pantages, according to the complaint.
A "Hamilton" spokesperson told NBC News in a statement Wednesday that they "deny allegations in the Charge," adding that management has provided Reid with "direct financial support, paid for their health insurance and paid for their housing."
“Suni Reid was a valued cast member for more than three years. We offered them a contract to return to Hamilton with terms responsive to their requests," the spokesperson said. "We have not discriminated or retaliated against Suni. Since the shutdown, our organization has taken care of our community. We have treated Suni with the same respect and consideration as all the company members of Hamilton."
"Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's broadway smash hit, was widely celebrated as a groundbreaking, diverse musical that took a rap-infused look at Alexander Hamilton's life and his formative role in American history. But according to Reid, that picture was discolored behind the scenes.
“Publicly, Hamilton is a beacon of diversity and appears committed to causes seeking social justice and harmony," Lawrence M. Pearson and Lindsay M. Goldbrum, Reid's lawyers, said in a statement Wednesday. "Behind the curtain, however, the Company’s management will force out a Black, transgender cast member simply because they stood up for themselves and advocated for a more equitable workplace, and therefore called that public image into question."
Their legal team added: "We look forward to upholding Mx. Reid’s rights and hope this is a wake-up call for the theater industry about the systemic inequities that persist even at its greatest heights."
Adventureland, LLC, and Eliza Tour, LLC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
