Gina Carano has filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm, and Elon Musk is footing the bill.
Carano, who played Cara Dune on “The Mandalorian,” was fired after Disney said she posted on social media comparing being a Republican to being Jewish during the Holocaust, Variety reported.
She shared a post from another Instagram user that read, “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors, even by children. Because history is edited, 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 for simply being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views.”
Deadline reported Disney responded to the statement on Feb. 21, 2021, writing, “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.”
Carano, according to The Washington Post, said she did not compare being Republican with being Jewish during the Holocaust.
In a post announcing the suit Tuesday morning on X, previously known as Twitter, Carano wrote, “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.”
The actress is suing for wrongful termination and discrimination, asking Lucasfilms to hire her again while paying her at least $75,000.
Musk is paying for the legal fight after he said he would pay for lawsuits from people who claim they were discriminated against on X. Carano’s post was not originally posted to Twitter. Instead, they were on Instagram Stories.
“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,” Joe Benarroch, the head of X’s business operations, said in a statement to Variety.
The suit uses “Star Wars” as the narrative against the movie franchise’s production company and owner, writing in the complaint, “A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated. And so it was with Carano.”
The suit continued, “The rule of law still reigns over the Defendants’ empire … and Carano has returned to demand that they be held accountable for their bullying, discriminatory, and retaliatory actions — actions that inflicted not only substantial emotional harm, but millions of dollars in lost income,” Deadline reported.
She claims not only wrongful discharge but also sex discrimination.
“In addition to terminating her, Defendants refused to hire her for roles already promised, including but not limited to Season 3 of The Mandalorian, the new series Rangers of the New Republic, and planned future ‘Stars Wars’ full length feature films (which have recently been announced) — all because of her political beliefs and in disparate treatment from her male co-workers,” the suit alleges.
She cites statements made by “Star Wars” franchise stars Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill, saying that the companies “did not comment on, let alone publicly condemn Hamill’s social media comments.” Hamill has compared former President Donald Trump’s policies to Adolf Hitler.
Disney did not respond to The Washington Post’s or Variety’s request for comments on the lawsuit.
©2024 Cox Media Group
