Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, streaming, TV | Tagged: disney, elon musk, gina carano, lucasfilm, The Mandalorian

Gina Carano Files Elon Musk/Twitter-Funded Lawsuit Against Disney

Gina Carano filed a wrongful termination & discrimination suit against Disney and Lucasfilm, with Elon Musk's Twitter/X funding the move.

Back in August 2023, Twitter X owner Elon Musk put the word out, "If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill." And there would be "no limit," Musk clarified, to the financial support they would offer that legal challenge. That caught the attention of fans of ex-The Mandalorian supporting cast member Gina Carano, who tagged her in their responses to Musk in a move to get Twitter X to front Carano's legal costs if she was looking to hit back at Disney for firing her from the streaming series. Well, it appears that Musk & Carano spoke because Carano's Twitter/X-funded legal team filed a complaint earlier today in California federal court, suing Disney & Lucasfilm for discrimination & wrongful termination over voicing what the complaint claims Disney saw as right-wing opinions. Along with a minimum of $75,000 (plus punitive damages), Carano is also seeking to have Lucasfilm recast her in the role. "

In the complaint, Carano alleges – among other things – that she was expected to adjust her position on a number of issues to be more in line with Disney and Lucasfilm while others (with co-star Pedro Pascal named as an example) were not disciplined for posting negative posts towards Republicans. In addition, the complaint claims that Carano was terminated shortly after she refused to first meet with a representative of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination and issue a public apology. From there, the complaint claims that Carano was required to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+ – a meeting that Carano also declined. The complaint also alleges that Disney continued a "post-termination smear campaign" that has impacted her career – including being dropped by UTA and her transactional lawyer.

Carano and Musk may have a tough hill to climb when it comes to legally arguing Free Speech/First Amendment when it comes to private companies – as opposed to working for the local, state, and/or federal governments. Here's a legal explanation from the Blanchard & Walker PLLC website: "The first thing to know about the First Amendment is that it is a limit only on government. It prohibits the federal government from making laws that infringe on the rights of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Through the Fourteenth Amendment, state and local governments are also prohibited from infringing on these rights. Yet, one of the most powerful restraints on individual freedom is the power of employers to discharge workers. If your employer is a private entity, the First Amendment offers you no protection from being fired on account of what you say."

The Mandalorian/Gina Carano: A Look Back

As we reported previously, Carano was fired from Lucasfilm & Disney+'s original "Star Wars" spinoff series in February 2021 after months of controversial social media posts that Disney saw as promoting conspiracy theories, questionable science & misinformation. It culminated in an Instagram Stories post where Carano supported comparing the "persecution" that she believes conservatives were enduring (especially with the COVID pandemic) with what Jewish people suffered in Nazi Germany. Check out a screencap of the image Carano posted above, which was reportedly the final straw for the streaming service – though the post would eventually be taken down.

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