Four days after former costar Carl Weathers passed away, the former The Mandalorian actress Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination in a lawsuit — with the help of Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Carano filed a complaint in California federal court, alleging that she was terminated for voicing right-wing opinions on social media and seeks a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her, THR reports.
The former mixed martial arts competitor and actress thanked Musk and X on Tuesday for “giving me an opportunity to bring my case to light” by helping fund her lawsuit. Musk previously vowed to pay the legal costs of X users who claim they have been discriminated against for their posts on the platform.
Joe Benarroch, X’s head of business operations, confirmed its monetary assistance in a statement: “As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination.”
In February 2021, Lucasfilm announced that Carano would not be returning to the hit Star Wars Disney+ series after the actress shared a tweet in which she said, “most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Naxi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”
This was the final straw after months of statements on X (Twitter back then) and Instagram that questioned the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, claimed Jeffrey Epstein didn't commit suicide, blamed the Biden administration for the deaths of vaccinated people, and added “boop/bop/beep” as her pronouns.
At that time, a spokesperson wrote in a statement: “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.” Around the same time, Carano's agency, United Talent Agency, dropped her.
On Tuesday, Carano shared a statement clarifying the post on X: “My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt right wing extremist.”
The complaint claims that Disney and Lucasfilm defamed and harassed Carano for refusing to conform with their viewpoints on issues relating to preferred pronouns, Black Lives Matter, and disproven claims of election interference. While the 41-year-old actress was terminated for her cultural and religious beliefs, Carano argues that the company turned a blind eye to her male co-stars, who allegedly made denigrating and offensive posts directed toward Republicans. Carano points to Pedro Pascal's 2017 post comparing Donald Trump to Hitler.
According to the lawsuit, Disney required Carano, who was paid $25,000 per episode as a guest actor and later negotiated a one-time $5,000 bonus, to meet with someone from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination and demanded a public apology.
“Defendants went so far as to try and convince Carano’s publicist to force Carano to issue a statement admitting to mocking or insulting an entire group of people, which Carano had never done,” the lawsuit said.
The suit claims that after she refused, Carano was told to meet with Lucasfim president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ, which she declined. Shortly after that, she was terminated from The Mandalorian, and the (since canceled) Rangers of the New Republic series.
In the complaint, Carano claims for wrongful discharge and sex discrimination. Carano, who played Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, seeks a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her and at least $75,000, plus punitive damages.
“Some of us have been unjustly singled out, harassed, persecuted and had our livelihoods stripped away because we dared to encourage conversation, asked questions, and refused to go along with the mob,” she said in a statement.
Carano is glad that Musk and X are helping in the fight. “I am honored that my case has been chosen to be supported by the company that has been one of the last glimmers of hope for free speech in the world,” Carano added.
