Rockmond Dunbar Loses Covid Vaccine Mandate Trial Against disney
Los Angeles – A Los Angeles jury ruled against actor Rockmond Dunbar in his lawsuit alleging wrongful termination over Disney‘s Covid-19 vaccine mandate. Dunbar, formerly the ex-husband of Angela Bassett’s character on the Fox drama 9-1-1, was written off the show in late 2021 after requesting and being denied both medical and religious exemptions to the vaccine requirement for actors and Zone A workers.
Dunbar claimed his faith,as a member of the Congregation of Worldwide Wisdom,prohibited him from allowing “injections or chemicals in his body that ‘defy natural law.'” He initially filed a 45-page complaint in 2022 seeking damages potentially reaching $1 million, alleging racial discrimination, claiming non-minority employees who refused vaccination were not terminated.
District Judge Dolly Gee dismissed some claims in March 2024, narrowing the case to three central arguments: whether Dunbar held a sincerely held religious belief, whether Disney failed to engage in a required interactive process, and whether reasonable accommodations were possible without undue hardship.
During discovery, Disney presented evidence questioning the legitimacy of the Congregation of Universal Wisdom, founded by Walter P. Schilling, noting membership requires only a $1 payment and adherence to Schilling’s rules. Further, evidence revealed Dunbar was receiving testosterone injections eight times a month, along with other drugs delivered via injection to counteract side effects, contradicting his claim of avoiding chemicals in his body.
despite Dunbar’s assertion of divine approval for his anti-vaccine stance, the jury sided with Disney.
