What did Rockmond Dunbar do after his character was written off abruptly from Fox series 9-1-1? Lawsuit explored

Rockmond Dunbar, who is known for appearing in the American series 9-1-1, sued Disney and Fox 20th Television. He sued the companies for discrimination a few months after his character was written off from season 5 of the show for not following the on-set COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

In the suit, acquired by Deadline, Dunbar claimed that his character, Angela Bassett's husband Michael Grant, had been dumped by the show's producers after he sought exemption from the vaccine mandate on medical and religious grounds. His request was reviewed by Disney and rejected.

In response, Dunbar filed a suit, which read:

In retaliation, Defendants summarily terminated Mr. Dunbar’s employment agreement, and refused to pay him the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are still owed to him.

Read on to find out about the situation that resulted in Rockmond Dunbar filing a lawsuit against Disney.

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Rockmond Dunbar's exit from 9-1-1 was announced in November 2021. But why?

Rockmond Dunbar's exit from the 9-1-1 show was announced in November 2021. Disney Television Studios' 20th Television, according to a Deadline report from November, required the cast and crew of a particular set to get vaccinated as part of its revised COVID-19 protocol.

In response, a spokesperson for 20th Television said that the production required everyone working in Zone A to be vaccinated in order to ensure a safer workplace.

Dunbar, however, requested a medical exemption and later religious exemption from the criteria. Dunbar is not against vaccination, but in a statement that his "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."

The suit from February 2022 revealed that Dunbar is an adherent to the teachings of the Church of Universal Wisdom. This congregation of religious beliefs asserts that injection of any medication or man-made substance would violate the sanctity of the body. It is to be noted that the Church of Universal Wisdom is not only opposed to vaccination for COVID-19, but to vaccinations in general.

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What did Rockmond Dunbar do after his character was written off from 9-1-1?

In a recent court filing from February 2022, Dunbar argued that Disney's actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the California Fair Employment Housing Act and common law principles of contract law.

Dunbar also accused Disney of racial discrimination and added:

"On information and belief, non-minority employees similarly situated were not subject to termination when they refused the COVID-19 vaccine."

Angela Bassett and Rockmond Dunbar in a still from 9-1-1 (Image via IMDb)

The filing further claimed that Disney leaked "negative information" about Dunbar and his departure from the show, "including that he sought both religious and medical exemptions that were denied."

The lawsuit added, and sought $1.3 million in compensation as per the contract and read:

"Defendants deliberately made it sound like Mr. Dunbar was a recalcitrant anti-vaxxer, rather than present the truth – that like millions of other Americans, he is a sincere adherent to a non-mainstream religious belief that prevents him from being vaccinated."

Dunbar essayed Michael Grant's role on the show and started out as Angela Bassett's husband, who later came out to her as gay. Bassett's Athena Grant-Nash and Grant co-parented their kids throughout four seasons.