Tulsa Theatre Community Members Highlight Recent Harassment Issues

Members of the Tulsa Theater community say they are being harassed and threatened online.

Ashe Baileigh is an actress, who says she was first harassed by someone claiming to be involved with Tulsa theater after her dog disappeared.

She says the person told her he would harm her and ruin her acting career because she disrespected him.

"It culminated to the point where he was saying things that he was going to find my dog and rehome her because I had failed as a pet owner, I better not run into him on the street," said Baileigh.

Baileigh says because she felt like her community had her back, she decided to file a police report.

"There's definitely this idea that as actors, you cannot speak up about your needs or your boundaries because jobs are so hard to find, even though most of us do this for free, opportunities are so hard to find, especially post-pandemic," said Baileigh.

Obum Ukabum serves on the Theatre Tulsa Board of Directors, and says since the play "1776," more people in the industry are being harassed, both in person and online.

He says the threats are not okay.

"I wanted to dispel the notion to any because they were attacking some younger people, and I want them to know, dispel that notion, that this person does have any power," said Ukabum. "In community theater, there is nobody that can just truly ruin your career."

Baileigh says it's important to speak up and she says she's glad she did.

"Whenever I went into this, I had no intention of trying to ruin this man's life or ruin this man's career or anything, I just wanted people to know what had happened and I want people to know that it's ok to speak up and that the community is going to stand behind you and protect you." said Baileigh.

The person listed in the police report declined to comment.

We are not identifying him because he hasn't been charged with a crime in this case.