TULSA, Okla. — Several performers are coming forward with complaints of being verbally attacked by strangers, mainly online.
Ashe Baileigh is a local actress who got a Facebook friend request from a stranger, but the profile appeared to be involved in theatre and had several mutual friends, so she accepted the request.
However, direct messages quickly got strange, she says, when she posted about a lost pet.
“He messaged me that night telling me he had taken hours out of his day searching areas, looking for my dog,” said Baileigh.
When she declined to give him specifics on her neighborhood or address, the messages turned angry. Baileigh said she attempted to deescalate the situation, but it didn’t work. It got worse.
“[Saying] he better not see me on the street and that he’s going to have people follow me,” she said. Baileigh said he threatened to find the dog and rehome him, claiming she was a bad pet owner for losing the dog. She unfriended him. She also became vocal about what happened and learned of several other women with similar instances.
Obum Ukabam is on the Theatre Tulsa Board of Directors. He told 2 News they’ve seen threats escalating from various people targeting the theatre community.
“A lot of times you don’t want to take those threats seriously, but it’s unnerving and something the performing arts community finds disburbing,” said Ukabam.
Ukabam and his wife have a restaurant inside Mother Road Market. They moved here from California because they felt Tulsa was a great place to raise a family. He’s disturbed by the growing number of threats against performers, especially with shows like “1776,” which featured an all-female and non-binary cast.
“There is a lot of diversity and inclusion now in theatre with a wide array of different stories being told,” he said.
The recent situations prompted Theatre Tulsa to issue a lengthy statement, announcing that they will not tolerate harassment and that theatre companies are united against hate.
Baileigh filed a police report. Above all, she just wants the theatre community to feel like Tulsa is a safe place.
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