Rockmond Dunbar, an actor on the TV series “9-1-1,” is set to go trial on Tuesday over his claim that he was fired due to his religious beliefs, which forbade him from getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dunbar’s character, Michael Grant, was written off the show in November 2021, a month after studios began requiring COVID-19 vaccines for actors and others on set. Dunbar asserts that he is a member of the Congregation of Universal Wisdom, which holds that it is sinful to inject chemicals that “defy natural law.”
Disney‘s 20th Television argues that Dunbar came up with a phony religious excuse to avoid complying with the vaccine mandate. During pre-trial investigation, the company’s lawyers discovered that Dunbar had taken other drugs, including steroids for shoulder pain, and had been getting regular injections of synthetic testosterone from “The Man Clinic” since 2018.
The trial is a vivid reminder of the COVID era, when Hollywood unions negotiated complex safety protocols, including frequent testing and different distancing and masking requirements for different production zones.
Many had long since grown tired of the rules by the time they were discarded in 2023.
At trial, Disney’s lawyers will seek to avoid re-litigating the COVID protocols. According to an exhibit prepared for jurors, they will say that they respect Dunbar’s personal choice. But the issue, they will argue, is whether that choice arose from a sincere religious belief.
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious practices.
The Congregation of Universal Wisdom was founded by Dr. Walter Schilling, a New Jersey chiropractor, in 1975. Members have long used the church’s teachings to avoid school vaccination requirements.
Schilling, 82, was expected to testify at the trial, but recently indicated he is too ill to travel to Los Angeles. Instead, his depositions are expected to be played for the jury.
Schilling testified that the church does not have a place of worship or regular meetings. Members can join by submitting an application and a fee.
“A lot of people in the general public hold our beliefs but then they don’t have a place to go to verify those beliefs,” Schilling said. “So what has happened when they started mandating things, it incentivized people to actually join the church.”
He also said that it would be “sacrilege” to inject oneself with synthetic testosterone, or any other prescription drug.
Dunbar’s lawyers have argued that the actor holds a “nuanced” set of beliefs that melds CUW with the teachings of Buddhism and African Yoruba faith.
“Since at least 2014, Plaintiff has held sincere religious beliefs that prevent him from receiving vaccines because he believes they will tether his soul to earth, thereby preventing him from ascending to be with God after his death,” his attorneys argued in a pre-trial memo.
Dunbar and his wife, Maya, are also expected to testify, as is “9-1-1” showrunner Tim Minear.
Dunbar’s lawyers have argued that he does not need to be a perfect adherent to CUW practices in order for his beliefs to be protected.
Dunbar has said he is “not against western medicine that is made with God’s consent or that does not cloud my communication with God.”
During discovery, Dunbar failed to turn over most of his medical records to Disney’s lawyers. The attorneys ultimately obtained records from 44 providers, including Dr. Fong of The Man Clinic. Fong had been providing him twice-weekly testosterone injections, as well as injections of anastrozole, a chemotherapy drug intended to prevent breast growth, which can be a side effect of testosterone.
Judge Dolly Gee faulted Dunbar for “egregious” failures to disclose evidence.
Dunbar’s lawyers sought to block use of Dunbar’s medical records at trial, arguing they were irrelevant, but the judge disagreed.
“Dunbar’s medical records include behavior that is contrary to the tenets of the CUW religion,” she wrote. “This evidence is relevant to a credibility determination of whether Dunbar’s beliefs are sincere or merely opportunistic.”
Asked in his deposition how he had determined that the vaccine was against his belief system, while other interventions are permissible, Dunbar said he “spoke to God.”
“I believe God told everybody in this world, before they sat down or as they sat down to receive the shot, to not get it,” Dunbar said. “And they chose to do it. So that was their spiritual test, and they failed.”
Gee previously rejected many of Dunbar’s other legal claims, but left it up to a jury to decide whether his religious beliefs are sincerely held. Efforts to settle the case before trial were unsuccessful.
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