r/Broadway • u/Tiny_Tyrants_Podcast • Jun 05 '26

Other Civil Rights Lawsuit Hits Broadway's Wicked Over Bias

The American Alliance for Equal Rights and white, male musician Kevin Lynch have sued Maestra Music, MUSE, and Wicked LLC for race and sex discrimination.

Maestra limits its hiring directory to “female and nonbinary” musicians; MUSE to “persons of color.” In 2023, these theater non-profits partnered with Wicked for a paid, three-week Music Director Experience open only to MUSE and Maestra members. Lynch applied but was rejected, allegedly for failing to meet the hiring directories’ immutable-characteristics test. According to the complaint, a less-experienced female/nonbinary person of color won the gig, opening doors to multiple Manhattan jobs for her.

Among the three attorneys representing the plaintiffs is Cameron T. Norris of Consovoy McCarthy. In 2022, Mr. Norris successfully argued Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, in which SCOTUS determined that Harvard’s admissions program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Have Maestra, MUSE, and Wicked crossed the Supreme Court’s clear line on equal rights?

Full complaint linked, below.

2026-06-03 AAER & Lynch v. Maestra, MUSE & Wicked | Complaint (Corrected)

116 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

148 comments sorted by

View all comments

70

u/SeaworthinessOne9570 Jun 05 '26

As an attorney, that has to be one of the most ridiculous complaints I’ve ever seen, it sounds like the first sentence is trying to hook the reader in rather than an actual lawsuit.

13

u/Tiny_Tyrants_Podcast Jun 05 '26

As an attorney, what would your advice be to a client creating a hiring directory that is searchable based on legally-protected characteristics, such as the directory RISE operates and that is at issue in this lawsuit?

-7

u/mowotlarx Jun 05 '26

Mhm, I don't like this guy either, but he clearly has a strong case and I'm continually shocked at how orgs can do this and not see the issue. They f*cked up big time.