OAN’s Abril Elfi
6:20 PM – Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Actress Gina Carano, a former MMA fighter, is suing Disney and Lucasfilm over her firing from the television show The Mandalorian in a lawsuit that is reportedly being funded by Elon Musk.
Carano is suing the companies for “discrimination and wrongful termination” in a complaint filed on Tuesday in federal court in California.
The filing alleges that she was fired for voicing her right-wing political opinions on social media and Carano is now seeking a court order to have Lucasfilm recast her.
Musk will reportedly help fund Carano’s legal defense and lawsuit.
Musk also previously suggested that he will “foot the legal bill” for any X (Twitter) users who say that they have been discriminated against due to their activity on his social media platform.
X’s head of business operations, Joe Benarroch, released a statement regarding the situation.
“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 2021, Lucasfilm had announced that Castrano would not be returning to the series after she said in a social media post that, “most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi 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?”
Carano had also previously mocked COVID-19 government mandates regarding face masks during the pandemic and suggested that voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election.
In a statement clarifying the post on X, Carano said on Tuesday, “My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt-right wing extremist.”
The complaint alleges that Carano was harassed and defamed by Disney and Lucasfilm for not agreeing with their political positions on topics such as Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns, and allegations of election meddling.
Carano claims that although she was fired for her religious and cultural views, the media giant ignored her male co-stars’ allegedly derogatory and offensive remarks about Republicans. She cited a 2017 social media post by Disney actor Pedro Pascal where he compared Hitler to former President Donald Trump.
Additionally, the lawsuit states that Disney forced Carano, who received a $5,000 one-time bonus after negotiating a $25,000 per episode guest acting contract, to meet with a representative of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination and also demanded a public apology, according to the lawsuit.
“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 complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, Carano was instructed to meet with 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+ and Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, after she refused to take part in the public apology.
She turned down the offer and was fired shortly after from The Mandalorian and other Star Wars television shows, such as Rangers of the New Republic.
Carano further claims that Disney carried out a “post-termination smear campaign,” citing the “effort to malign” her as evidenced by the sudden removal of an episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls, in which she appeared in the “show’s scheduled lineup.”
Disney is accused of leaving out all references to her name and likeness in promotional materials, even though the episode did eventually air.
The lawsuit also blames Disney’s termination of Carano as the impetus for an Under Trust Agreement (UTA) and her transactional lawyer dropping her as a client. She is now requesting punitive damages in addition to at least $75,000 and a court order compelling Lucasfilm to recast her.
“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 expressed that she is honored by Musk’s offer in funding the lawsuit.
“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 said.
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