As an intensifying debate over free speech and corporate control in Hollywood rallies, Gina Carano, a star from The Mandalorian, is orchestrating a legal challenge against Disney and Lucasfilm for alleged discrimination and illicit expulsion after she was fired from the company over her social media posts.
Her suit is supported financially by Elon Musk, a vocal advocate for freedom of speech, and critic of Disney, who has previously committed to back legal cases for individuals alleging censorship due to their use of his platform, X.
Carano’s lawsuit, lodged in a federal court in California on Tuesday, contends she was expelled due to her conservative sentiments shared on social media.
We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here.
Interestingly, her legal challenge is not limited to seeking redress, but it also includes a plea for a court injunction necessitating her re-hiring at Lucasfilm.
As detailed in a public statement from X’s chief of business operations, Joe Benarroch, Musk is duly proud to financially back Carano’s lawsuit.
“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,” Benarroch stated.
Carano’s departure from The Mandalorian was officially announced by Lucasfilm in 2021 following her social media post which used the idea of how Nazis utilized hatred to get people to turn against their Jewish neighbors.
Carano’s firing was notable since her co-star Pedro Pascal also made social media posts that likened the modern day situation on the US border with the Holocaust. Pascal also made multiple posts comparing modern-day scenarios to Nazi Germany and compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.
The lawsuit states that left-leaning Star Wars actors, such as Mark Hamill, also used Nazism as a metaphor to describe elements of today’s politics and were also not fired by Disney.
It’s for this reason that many believe that Carano was particularly targeted for being a conservative.
The former MMA fighter has a history of conservative stances on contentious issues which have provoked criticism.
She has consistently brushed against mainstream perspectives, questioning the efficacy of government-imposed masks during the pandemic and speculating about voter manipulation in the 2020 presidential election.
Per the legal claim, Carano asserts she endured defamation and harassment from Disney and Lucasfilm on account of her unwillingness to align with the companies’ stances on matters extending from Black Lives Matter to preferred pronouns and allegations of election meddling.
She alleges her exit was triggered by her cultural and religious convictions; however, she contrasts this with her male colleagues’ actions who not only faced lesser repercussions for their controversial posts against Republicans, but they were seemingly overlooked by the entertainment behemoth.
The legal document further reveals Disney’s attempt to incite a confession from Carano by arranging meetings with representatives from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination and requesting a public apology. It claims, “Defendants pursued persuading Carano’s publicist to coerce Carano to issue a declaration wherein she conceded to ridiculing or offending an entire demographic, an action Carano contends she never committed.”
In a statement on X, Carano posted, “The thing is I never even used aggressive language. I shared thought provoking quotes, pictures, memes & occasionally I used my own words, not with aggression but with respect & the occasional comedy to keep the mood light in dark times.”
The actress added, “Look with your own eyes at what I posted and ask yourself, for example, where did I compare Republicans to the Jewish people in the holocaust? I didn’t. Ask yourself why they were calling me a racist, was there any merit behind that or history of it whatsoever?”
