Unvaxxed 3-Year-Old Girl Can’t Watch New York City Ballet: Suit

An unvaccinated 3-year-old girl is unable to see shows at the New York City Ballet because the theater still requires the vaccination – which new court records say she is too young for.

Her father — identified as CL in court documents — filed an age discrimination class-action lawsuit against NYCB over its policy requiring customers to show proof they are fully vaccinated, according to the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday .

In March, the city lifted the vaccination certificate requirement for companies.

The toddler, who takes weekly ballet classes, saw a billboard advertising performances she wanted to attend at Lincoln Center. But she was unable to see the shows at the David H. Koch Theater in May 2022 because she isn’t 5 years old — the minimum age the Centers for Disease Control has deemed suitable for the COVID-19 vaccine, her lawsuit alleges.

“We were riding the bus and she saw it [the billboard] and was excited like ‘Daddy, Daddy! I want to go to the ballet!” the 49-year-old father told the Post. “There were a lot of shows she wanted to see, but she couldn’t see any of them.”

“Why would an entire age group be excluded from participation? It’s classic ageism,” the Upper West Side father said.

“The arts serve as an educational experience, as a cultural experience, and also as an artistic experience,” CL said. “To exclude an entire class of individuals from this experience seems unfair.”

CL, who requested that his full name not be used, emailed the ballet about the issue, but he never received a response, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges that the ballet allows exceptions for medical and religious reasons for adults – who are at greater risk of spreading the virus than children under the age of 5.

“The defendant’s alleged justification for discriminating against children under the age of five in the use of its public accommodation cannot be accepted as the defendant is banning the entry of some unvaccinated individuals who pose an extremely low risk of transmission of COVID-19 while he allows the entry of other unvaccinated individuals — the disabled and some religious believers — who pose a far greater risk,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit says there are less restrictive ways to protect public health, including the Boston Ballet’s policy of allowing young children to present a negative COVID test in lieu of proof of vaccination, or the Philadelphia Ballet’s policy of everyone five and older years to oblige their vaccination cards – without excluding children under 5 years of age.

“Defendants’ policies disregard both industry norms and our current scientific understanding of COVID-19 and its vaccines,” the filing reads. “Accordingly, there is no justification for the differential impact of its policies on potential customers under the age of 5, and the defendant is liable for age discrimination.”

The NYCB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.