Joseph Segal was refused by an agency
An actor was refused to be taken on by an agency as they already had a gay actor.
Joseph Segal, a musician and performer based in London, applied to an agency to be represented by them in his career.
But then he was told he was being refused on the basis of his sexuality.
Agency: ‘We already have a gay actor…’
They said: ‘We already have a gay actor on our books and also an actor/musician of the same age. So we feel there would be a clash.
‘I’m unable to consider you at the moment.’
Posting a screenshot of the email on his Twitter account, Segal slammed the agency for its homophobia.
‘I am hurt and frustrated,’ he wrote. ‘Are all gay actors the same? Do we not get cast? Are there not enough roles for us?’
The tweet went viral, gaining thousands of retweets and likes.
Support from celebs and working actors
Gay writer and Sherlock actor Mark Gattis said: ‘Christ. This is scary. Reprehensible.’
Game of Thrones’ Tom Hopper, who plays Rickon, said: ‘Joseph, it is a disgrace that this agent has brought your sexuality in to the equation as a reason not to take you on.
‘I’ve worked with many gay actors and they very often are playing a straight character and vice versa. So your sexuality is irrelevant to your casting eligibility.’
And Matthew Lewis, who played Neville in the Harry Potter series, said: ‘This is mental. Do you wear a sign? Who gives a shit! How many straight actors they got? Any clashes?
‘I heard Schwarzenegger wasn’t actually a cyborg from the future but they gave him the part anyway.
‘Christ, it’s literally pretending to be somebody you’re not. Sorry pal.’
‘We feel ashamed…so ashamed we feel unable to defend it’
The agency responded with an apology to Segal.
‘We offer our sincerest of apologies to you and anyone else who may have taken offense,’ the agency said.
‘We feel ashamed about it, so ashamed we feel unable to defend it.
‘When choosing clients we look at all aspects the artist brings to the table and at no point should we have commented on your sexuality.’
The agency also said they would inform their clients of the situation.
Agency will close
A day later, and Segal tweeted the agency will now close.
‘Thank you for your support and response,’ he said in a message to his followers.
‘The agency will close after a number of its clients leaving. This was an inexperienced agency, who I now know, was not a member of the necessary associations.
‘Donations will be made to the LGBT Foundation and Mind.’
