Gina Carano is now suing Lucasfilm over getting canned. And Elon Musk is the one funding the lawsuit!!
As you’ll no doubt recall, Gina was infamously fired from her gig on The Mandalorian back in early 2021 after she shared and then deleted an antisemitic Stories post to her Instagram account. That followed several months of statements on X (then known as Twitter) in which she criticized COVID mask mandates, spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 US presidential election, and disparaged things like pronoun usage and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Like we said, she was canned from the Disney gig in February of 2021 following months of that. We’d assume she was asked over that time to tone it down, though we’ve never heard for sure. The question is, did the Mouse House have the right to fire her? According to the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, Carano filed a lawsuit in federal court in California against Lucasfilm and Disney. In the suit, she calls her firing discrimination and wrongful termination. Hmm…
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Per THR, Carano’s new legal complaint alleges she was fired for voicing right-wing opinions on social media. In turn, she wants to be granted a court order that would force Disney to recast her in her role as Cara Dune. For Carano, then, this lawsuit would seem to be the next step in this long-running showdown with the powerhouse studio.
But that’s only half the story!!! Because some of the posts in question that allegedly led to Carano’s firing were made (and/or “liked”) on the website formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk is getting involved! As THR and others note, he has previously indicated that he will foot the legal bills for users who file lawsuits after they were allegedly discriminated against due to their usage of X. Well, with Gina, he’s actually making good on that promise. Whoa!
In a statement to THR about the lawsuit and the controversial Tesla chief’s decision to fund it, X head of business operations Joe Benarroch said:
“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.”
As for Carano, as we noted, her suit requests that a judge forcibly return the actress to her role as Cara Dune. She’s also mad about being “singled out” over her social media posts and fired for them. She claims other male actors faced no such repercussions. Hmm. In addition to the filing itself, she released a statement to THR about it:
“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.”
And, as you’d expect, she also praised Musk for helping financially in her fight against Disney:
“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.”
Not sure about all that. After all, Elon has made clear he’s very much in favor of free speech he likes. You know, white supremacist conspiracy theories, that kind of thing.
Regardless, it’s a big deal for Musk to get involved with this lawsuit. He’s got deeper pockets than most folks, so theoretically he could play hardball if he wanted. Of course, he doesn’t have deeper pockets than Disney, so… yeah. But honestly, at least he’s doing what he promised long ago to do in funding the suits of people who claim discrimination stemming from X posts, right? He’s literally putting his money where his mouth is after making that pledge. We’ll just have to see if it’s a wise move to fund Carano’s claims specifically…
Reactions, Perezcious readers?? What do U think of Carano’s chances here?! And what do U make of Musk’s decision to fund the whole thing?! Sound OFF with your reactions down in the comments (below)…
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Avalon]
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