Subject of protest joins in

Deirdre Newman

Matthew Cusick was fired from Cirque du Soleil last spring after

disclosing that he had HIV.

Thursday, Cusick attended a protest on his behalf outside the

tents for Cirque du Soleil’s latest show, “Varekai,” accusing the

company of discrimination. The protest came on the heels of a smaller

protest held on opening night.

About 30 protesters were on hand Thursday from groups like Lambda

Legal and the Orange County Gay and Lesbian Center.

Cusick said he was “deeply affected by tonight’s protest.” He

stood back from the rest of the crowd, keeping a low profile to the

point that one couldn’t tell he was the subject of the protest.

“It’s overwhelming,” Cusick said. “I had two people come back out

with signed petitions to reinstate me as a performer. One lady made

me start crying.”

The protest was just as civil as previous ones in San Francisco,

Los Angeles and the one on opening night, Cirque spokeswoman

Renee-Claude Menard said.

“It’s completely normal,” she said. “It’s going well.”

The protests stem from a federal discrimination complaint Lambda

Legal filed in July against Cirque du Soleil on behalf of Cusick.

Lambda Legal is a national organization that supports the civil

rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and people with the HIV virus and

AIDS.

Cusick, 32, was fired in April just before he was to start a

temporary performing job in “Mystere,” Cirque’s Las Vegas show.

Cusick, who has been HIV-positive for 10 years, was cleared to

perform by the company’s doctors, but Cirque du Soleil officials

informed him that his role as an acrobatic catcher could place fellow

performers and patrons in jeopardy, according to Lambda Legal.

Despite being fired, Cusick said he has no regrets about

disclosing his HIV status and would do so again in the future.

“I think it’s getting the word out to the community and also

showing Cirque that the community cares about the issue,” Cusick

said. “It’s also showing the world that discrimination is wrong and

the support there is behind that -- that other companies aren’t going

to be able to get away with things like that.”

Patrons who walked by protesters as they entered the show had

mixed reactions, with one yelling “They should go get a job,” and

another saying, “We’ve been dealing with the HIV thing for years.

It’s no big deal.”

Dianne Mathiowetz, who had just gotten off a plane from Atlanta

with the intention of supporting the grocery store strike, said she

headed to Costa Mesa when she heard about the protest.

“Any time someone can get fired from their job based on something

that doesn’t have any bearing on their ability to carry it out means

everyone’s job can be taken away for similar arbitrary reasons,”

Mathiowetz said.