There are quite a few movie villains you wouldn’t want to be likened to. Whether it’s Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, or as one group of employees learned the hard way—Darth Vader from Star Wars, comparisons like that rarely end well.
The American Film Institute (AFI), which ranks iconic movie heroes and villains, placed Darth Vader third among the most notorious villains. Only Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates ranked higher on the list.
Lorna Rooke, who worked with the NHS in the blood and transplant division, said her team completed a Star Wars-themed personality quiz on her behalf. The result? She apparently matched with Darth Vader.
The quiz was a playful spin-off of the Myers-Briggs personality test, which normally identifies people by categories such as introvert or extrovert. In this version, though, the test linked individuals to characters from Star Wars, and Rooke’s result wasn’t exactly flattering.
One major detail that came up during the case was that the personality test had been completed without her knowledge. She wasn’t even present when her coworkers did it back in August 2021.
At the time of the incident, Rooke had been working in the department for about 18 years, having joined the NHS in 2003.
Despite that seemingly positive spin, Rooke said the incident added to the stress and anxiety she had already been experiencing at work. For her, it felt like the final straw, and she decided to resign.
Judge Kathryn Ramsden addressed the matter in her ruling, writing: “Darth Vader is a legendary villain of the Star Wars series, and being aligned with his personality is insulting,” She also noted that it was “little wonder” Rooke had been upset, especially since the test results were shared publicly among the team.
They also dismissed her complaints of direct disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, concluding that those particular claims were “not well-founded.”
Aside from the Darth Vader matter, the tribunal also considered whether Rooke’s employers were wrong in refusing to let her take back her resignation after she submitted it.
In the end, she was granted $22,600 to make up for the financial losses she faced due to the resignation issue. She also received $16,000 to compensate for the emotional distress she suffered.