Actor Rockmond Dunbar was headed to trial Tuesday in Los Angeles, arguing he was fired from the Fox series “9-1-1” for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds.
Dunbar, who played Michael Grant, left the show in 2021 after 20th Television, a Disney subsidiary, began requiring vaccinations for all cast and crew.
He said the mandate conflicted with his beliefs as a member of the Congregation of Universal Wisdom, a church that teaches it is sinful to inject chemicals that violate “natural law,” Variety reported.
“I applied for religious and medical accommodations pursuant to the law and unfortunately was denied by my employer,” Dunbar said in a statement to Deadline at the time.
Disney’s lawyers counter that Dunbar’s claim wasn’t sincere, arguing he used religion as a way to avoid getting vaccinated.
In filings, they pointed to medical records showing he had received other injections for years, including testosterone treatments and steroids for shoulder pain — evidence they say contradicts his claim that his faith bars such practices.
The case centers on whether Dunbar’s beliefs qualify for protection under the Civil Rights Act, which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious beliefs.
Dr. Walter Schilling, an 82-year-old chiropractor who founded the Congregation of Universal Wisdom in 1975, is expected to appear at trial through recorded testimony.
He said the church has no formal services and that members 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, adding that using synthetic drugs or hormones would be “sacrilege.”
Dunbar’s attorneys say his faith draws from Congregation of Universal Wisdom teachings as well as Buddhism and Yoruba spirituality.
They wrote that since at least 2014, Dunbar has believed vaccines would “tether his soul to earth, thereby preventing him from ascending to be with God after his death.”
His lawyers said he accepts some medical treatments “made with God’s consent” or those that don’t “cloud [his] communication with God.”
Judge Dolly Gee has allowed Disney to present Dunbar’s medical records at trial, describing his failure to disclose them during discovery as “egregious.”
In a deposition, Dunbar said he concluded the vaccine conflicted with his beliefs after prayer.
“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,” he testified. “And they chose to do it. So that was their spiritual test, and they failed.”
A jury will decide whether Dunbar’s refusal stemmed from genuine faith or personal choice. Settlement talks before trial fell through.
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