A transgender Texas student was kicked out of the lead role of his high school’s upcoming musical after his principal introduced a new gender casting policy.
Sherman High School senior Max Hightower landed the lead role in “Oklahoma!” last month, his father, Phillip Hightower, told local CBS affiliate KXII.
But the 17-year-old’s excitement didn’t last long. The principal called to inform him about the new policy they implemented. “Actors and actresses could only play a role that was the same gender they were assigned at birth,” Hightower told KXII, detailing his conversation with the principal.
Max Hightower identifies as a transgender male, meaning that he could no longer be cast as the male lead. “I was devastated,” Hightower said.