‘My child was frozen out of Frozen for being black’

Mum says her child actor daughter - who played Elsa - suffered race discrimination in the Disney production

Minaii Barrowes, 11, and her mum Llasheen

THE MUM of a black child star claims she was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed from Frozen the musical. 

Minaii Barrowes, 11, has worked with Disney as a young actor for two years and has also played young Nala in The Lion King‘s UK and Ireland stage tour.

Her mother, Llasheen Barrowes, 30, claims her daughter’s Frozen contract was terminated without a good reason and she was treated unfairly. 

Speaking exclusively to The Voice, Ms Barrowes said: “Everyone is scared to speak out and a lot of parents don’t want to be blacklisted because they want their children to continue and want their child’s name up in lights, but I won’t be silenced.”

The mother-of-one from Feltham, west London said she believes her daughter was treated unfairly because she was one of only two black child actresses in the production. 

Child star Minaii Barrowes

She said there was no concerns with her on stage, but the main issue is the treatment she received “behind the scenes.” 

She said: “One of the girls was being bullied, but her parents didn’t want to say anything and I told them ‘if it is happening to one it can be happening to another’.

“So, I bought the bullying claim to the head chaperone, but he quickly dismissed the claim.”

Ms Barrowes said from that point relations with the company started to go downhill.

Minaii in costume

She said her daughter came home from rehearsals in tears after overhearing a group of white girls speaking negatively about her, and when she confronted them they told her “it’s nothing to do with you.”

She requested the chaperone look into what happened, but says he told her once again “it didn’t happen”, without conducting a full investigation. 

Despite having a meeting with the deputy manager, production assistant and casting director, Ms Barrowes said her concerns were not looked into or taken seriously.

“All I was doing, is what any parent would do, which is to make enquiries on behalf of your child, but I was treated like my complaints were the problem.” 

She believes because she complained, her daughter was then unfairly excluded from opportunities while working on the production.

She said: “My daughter would come home from rehearsals and say the other girls got to go backstage but not her.

“This was a continuous thing, when it was the previews of the show they were not allowed to sit and watch them, but the other girls were able to.

“We were promised a photo of our children in full costume and make up, but I never got one and all the other parents did. 

“When I asked about it, I was told ‘I didn’t know you were so desperate for a picture.’”

“It’s one rule for them and another rule for me, if it’s a yes for them, it should be a yes for me.  We just want to be treated fairly like everyone else,” she added. 

Ms Barrowes told The Voice, her daughter has been performing since she was five years old and started her professional career in 2019, after landing a role in The Lion King.

Minaii played young Nala in the popular show for eight months, from July 2019 to March 2020 and only stopped filming because the Covid-19 pandemic halted all performances. 

During this time, her contract was extended and she was a popular cast member.

In June 2021, she joined the cast of Frozen and became the first black young Elsa, but has continuously experiences problems at the production.

The mother-of-one believes because she is black and a single mother, she was treated with less respect than other parents. 

She said: “Whenever I raised the same issues as other parents, I would receive an attitude or get a rude response. 

“Sometimes I heard other parents raising the same issues as me, but they were spoken to with respect and like they were human beings.” 

Ms Barrowes decided to escalate her complaint to the deputy and casting director after failing to find a resolution with the chaperone, but said “they changed the narrative to make her and her daughter appear to be the problem.” 

She said: “Instead of looking into my concerns, they made a false allegation against my daughter and said she was asking direct questions and recording conversations on her phone, which she wasn’t.

“When I made enquiries they told me, this allegation was based solely on perception.

“They cannot make false allegations and get away with it. That allegation caused my daughter to take time off from the play because I was not comfortable with her being looked after by the chaperones who were spreading lies about her.”

Ms Barrowes said she spoke to the company manager and demanded an apology about the allegation but says they are yet to get back to her.

She also says there was never an issue and these allegations only came to light after, after she raised a series of complaints about the way her daughter was treated.  

She is now demanding a full apology and payment for the shows her daughter missed because of the time she had to take off, but says she was offered money to keep quiet instead. 

She said: “They sent me a letter terminating her contract and sent another letter saying they will pay Minaii £3000 for the shows she has missed, as long as I didn’t speak to anyone about this. 

“I went back and told them I would not except the money, because they are giving it to us to shut us up.

“There is no way we are excepting that.” 

Ms Barrowes said she was hesitant to let her daughter join another Disney production after having a “series of concerns” during her time at The Lion King, but thought things would be different as it was a new production and new creative team. 

“She had a great experience on stage at The Lion King despite what was happening behind the scenes and she wanted to join Frozen, so I allowed her to,” she added. 

But despite her long-running history with the company, Minaii, has not been able to return to the stage. 

Ms Barrowes said she has tried to find a solution so her daughter can return to the production and believes the only way forward is a full apology and a new chaperone to be assigned to her daughter. 

She said she contacted Disney and requested new chaperones to work with her daughter, but her request was declined and her daughter’s contract was terminated.  

Ms Barrowes said her behaviour was branded “unprofessional”, which is strongly denies. 

“All I was doing what sticking up for my child,’ she said. 

Ms Barrowes now plans to take legal action against the company for unfair dismissal.

A spokesperson for the production said: “We take concerns raised by cast and crew seriously. 

“After a formal investigation into Ms. Barrowes’ claims, we addressed her concerns, yet she would not accept our attempts to find a way forward. 

“We are now working with ACAS to resolve this matter and are therefore unable to comment further.”

Comments Form

1 Comment

  1. | Heidi Walker

    Poor girl ,treat everybody the same,with respect &dignity this should not be happening!!!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

Support The Voice

The Voice Newspaper is committed to celebrating black excellence, campaigning for positive change and informing the black community on important issues. Your financial contributions are essential to protect the future of the publication as we strive to help raise the profile of the black communities across the UK. Any size donation is welcome and we thank you for your continued support.

Support Sign-up