Black dance instructor sues for wrongful termination

A performing arts academy is seeking dismissal of several claims made in a lawsuit by a Black, gay former dance instructor and choreographer for the school who alleges he was wrongfully terminated in 2022 for complaining about harassment and discrimination.
Plaintiff Yasir Nasir alleges nine causes of action in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). The school has campuses in Hollywood, where Nasir worked, and in New York City.
“AMDA’s racial animus against its African-American employees is deeply rooted in its culture,” according to the complaint.
But in court papers filed in advance of a Dec. 18 hearing, AMDA lawyers say Nasir’s claims for sexual orientation discrimination, harassment, fraud and violation of the state Civil Code should all be dismissed for failure to provide enough facts in support of each of the first three claims and a violation of the statute of limitations for the fourth.
“The complaint is replete with allegations that plaintiff was discriminated against on the basis of his race, but there are no facts alleged which would suggest that plaintiff’s sexual orientation factored at all in his alleged unlawful experiences at the college and, ultimately, his termination,”
the AMDA lawyers argue in their pleadings. “Plaintiff’s allegation that he was subject to a hostile work environment is equally deficient because his harassment claim is based on isolated incidents of unwelcome but benign behavior.”
AMDA also is asking that Nasir’s request for punitive damages be stricken.
Nasir worked for AMDA for nearly 13 years, taught about 70 classes and choreographed nearly 100 original works. According to his lawsuit filed last Dec. 15, AMDA describes itself as a “highly elite institution catering to artists with exceptional talents and abilities and providing instructions from the best industry professionals in the world.”
AMDA openly brags that many graduates go on to extraordinary careers in the arts, according to the suit.
However, Nasir alleges that white men and women are frequently offered advanced opportunities and promoted at AMDA despite having very little to no professional experience.
Nasir was denied promotions and AMDA repeatedly racially profiled the plaintiff and security workers assumed he was not an instructor because of his race, according to the suit, which also alleges he was denied equal pay. In addition AMDA hid from Nasir an email “riddled with homophobic and sexist accusations,” the suit further alleges.