Actress Gina Carano, best known for her role as Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, is suing Disney over her firing from the series, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination.
Reported first by The Hollywood Reporter, which also published the lawsuit in full, Carano’s legal counsel filed a complaint in the United States District Court Central District of California on Tuesday. Carano says that she was terminated from her role because she voiced her own opinions on social media platforms.
Elon Musk targeted the Walt Disney Company on Tuesday by agreeing to fund a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Carano.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude & thank you to @ElonMusk & @X for giving me an opportunity to bring my case to light,” Carano wrote.
Please let us know if you would like to join the lawsuit against Disney https://t.co/FnMxhUQvVA
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2024
In her post, she said that her past posts shouldn’t be seen as controversial and said her former employers targeted her as part of a bullying smear campaign that was intended to make an example out of her.
“The truth is, I was being hunted down from everything I posted to every post I liked because I was not in line with the acceptable narrative of the time. My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt-right wing extremist,” Carano continued.
Ms. Carano’s lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in federal court in California, seeks a court order forcing Disney and Lucasfilm to weave her “Mandalorian” character back into episodes and recast her for the part. She is also suing for punitive damages.
“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 comply fully would not be tolerated. And so it was with Carano,” the lawsuit states.
Carano’s social media posts had previously triggered the left. In 2020, she suggested there was voter fraud during the presidential election. She also dismissed the transgender community when fans asked her to include her pronouns in her bio.
Gene Schaerr, Carano’s attorney, said in a statement that Disney “Bullied Ms. Carano, trying to force her to conform to their views about cultural and political issues, and when that bullying failed, they fired her.”
Representatives for Disney and Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
