From Thursday's opinion by Judge Analisa Torres (S.D.N.Y.) in Netrebko v. Metropolitan Opera Ass'n:
After Anna Netrebko, an acclaimed opera singer, refused to repudiate Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera fired her….
Netrebko first alleges that the Met's February 27 Policy, in which it announced it would cut ties with artists and institutions that support or are supported by Putin, is "facially discriminatory" because it "singles out Russian artists." The Met argues that the Policy was "a political statement" and demonstrates that Netrebko's termination "ha[d] nothing to do with Netrebko being Russian" and everything to do with the Met's support for Ukraine and Netrebko's support for Putin….
The February 27 Policy is not facially discriminatory as it does not explicitly implicate a protected class. On its face, non-Russians can run afoul of the Met's policy. Moreover, a policy that targets "a generalized political affiliation, [and] not a specific national origin," cannot form the basis of a claim for national origin discrimination. That there exist Russian expatriates in the United States who support Putin does not compel a finding that the February 27 Policy facially discriminates against them.
Next, Netrebko alleges that the Met's discriminatory motivation is evidenced by (1) the "pretextual nature" of its stated reason for her firing (Netrebko's support of Putin), and (2) the fact that she was replaced by non-Russian performers. The Court disagrees.
