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Gina Carano
Jesse Grant/Getty Images
In an escalation of the confrontation over his dismissal in The MandalorianGina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination in a lawsuit that opens another front in the battleground over the influence over Hollywood that she has attracted to American companies.
Carano, in a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court in California, alleges that she was fired for expressing right-wing views on social media and is seeking a court order forcing Lucasfilm to rephrase her. Elon Musk, keeping his promise to foot the legal bill for users who claim they were discriminated against due to his activity on his platform, is helping fund the lawsuit through X.
In a statement, X’s head of business operations, Joe Benarroch, said: “As a sign of freedom of expression rights in X”. and the ability to work without intimidation, harassment or discrimination.”
Lucasfilm announced in 2021 that Carano will not return to the hit series after sharing a post that implied that being a Republican is like being Jewish during the Holocaust. It was the latest in a long series of posts in which the former MMA fighter drew the ire of social media users for her right-wing stances on hot-button issues. Carano, who was fired from UTA following the controversy, previously mocked government mandates to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and falsely suggested that voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election.
According to the complaint, Disney and Lucasfilm harassed and defamed Carano for refusing to conform to their views on issues related to Black Lives Matter, preferring pronouns, and disproven claims of election interference. While she was allegedly fired because of her cultural and religious beliefs, Carano maintains that the entertainment giant turned a blind eye to her male co-stars, who allegedly made offensive and denigrating posts aimed at Republicans.
The lawsuit says Disney demanded Carano meet with a representative of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination and demanded a public apology.
“The defendants went so far as to try to 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 complaint states.
After she refused, Carano was told to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+, according to the lawsuit. She refused and was fired shortly after. The Mandalorianas well as other titles from the Star Wars universe, including Ranger of the New Republic.
Carano files lawsuits for wrongful termination and sexual discrimination. She is seeking a court order forcing Lucasfilm to recast it and at least $75,000, plus punitive damages.
“Some of us have been unfairly singled out, harassed, persecuted, and stripped of our livelihoods because we dared to encourage conversation, ask questions, and refuse to agree with the mob,” he said in a statement.
At-will employees, who make up the majority of private sector workers, often face an uphill road to obtaining compensation for terminations due to problematic online posts deemed offensive and in violation of workplace policies. Unlike public sector employees, these workers are not protected from discipline under the First Amendment.
Regarding X’s funding of the lawsuit, Carano added: “I am honored that my case was chosen to receive support from the company that has been one of the last rays of hope for freedom of expression in the world “.
Last year, Musk pledged to fund legal action for X users who claim to have faced discrimination from their employers for their activity on the platform. The offer came with no cost limit, and Musk said he would “also go after company boards of directors.”
Amid an increasingly hardening stance on issues such as gender politics and race in the Republican Party, Ron DeSantis made “holding woke corporations accountable” one of the main pillars of his failed presidential campaign. Last year, he took control of the special tax district that controls development around Disney World in a move aimed at retaliating against the company for expressing opposition to a law limiting classroom discussion of sexuality and gender.