Amid an escalating dispute over her dismissal from the ‘Star Wars’ series ‘The Mandalorian,’ actress Gina Carano is taking legal action against Disney and Lucasfilm, filing a lawsuit stating discrimination and wrongful termination.
In a complaint filed on Tuesday, Carano alleges that she was terminated for expressing her right-wing opinions on her social media handles and is seeking a court order mandating Lucasfilm to recast her role as Cara Dune in the series.
“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,” said Joe Benarroch, X’s head of business operations.
Back in 2021, Lucasfilm had announced that the actress would not be coming back to the show, right after she shared a post that the company deemed “abhorrent and unacceptable.” As per Variety, the post read, “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?”
As per the complaint filed, Disney and Lucasfilm allegedly subjected Carano to harassment and defamation for not coming on terms with their ideologies on sensitive matters such as Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns, and debunked claims of Presidential elections. Additionally, she asserted gender discrimination, contending that male actors, who expressed their opinions, faced no repercussions whatsoever.
Carano is currently petitioning the court to mandate Lucasfilm to cast her back in the role and is also seeking compensatory damages of up to $75,000, along with emotional distress and 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.
As for X funding the suit, Carano stated that she is “honoured 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.”
She shed light on her case in a post. Check it out below:
A spokesperson from Disney is yet to comment on the matter.
