A jury unanimously ruled in favor of Disney’s 20th Television in a case involving “9-1-1” actor Rockmond Dunbar.
20th Television’s spokesperson told TheWrap after the verdict was issued on Friday: “We are pleased with today’s verdict, which affirms that 20th Television acted fairly and lawfully toward Mr. Dunbar.”
Representatives for Dunbar did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Dunbar had sued the company in 2022 after claiming that the studio failed to accommodate his religious beliefs, which he said prevented him from getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dunbar — whose character Michael Grant (ex-husband of Angela Bassett’s Athena) was written out of the show in 2021 — claimed that the company fired him as a result of his religious conviction after he refused to follow vaccine mandates for cast and crew members. The actor attempted to get both religious and medical exemptions to circumnavigate the on-set rules, but was instead removed from the series.
“I applied for religious and medical accommodations pursuant to the law and unfortunately was denied by my employer,” Dunbar said in a 2021 statement. “My sincerely held beliefs and private medical history are very intimate and personal aspects of my life that I do not publicly discuss and have no desire to start now. I’ve been an actor in this business for 30 years, but my greatest roles are as a husband and father to our 4 small children. As a man that walks in faith, I look forward to what the future holds.”
He added: “I have enjoyed the last 5 seasons with this wonderful cast and crew and will cherish the time I’ve been blessed to spend with this series and wish everyone involved nothing but the best.“
Dunbar filed the suit in 2022, claiming that he was a victim of racial discrimination and that “non-minority employees similarly situated were not subject to termination by avoiding the COVID-19 vaccine.” The suit against Disney and 20th Entertainment was filed in the Western division of U.S. District Court Central District of California.
“We take the health and safety of all of our employees very seriously, and have implemented a mandatory vaccination confirmation process for those working in Zone A on our productions. In order to ensure a safer workplace for all, Zone A personnel who do not confirm their vaccination status and do not meet the criteria for exemption will not be eligible to work,” 20th Television responded at the time.
