Three years after being fired by Lucasfilm over a series of offensive tweets, The Manadalorian actor Gina Carano is now suing its parent company Disney for discrimination and wrongful termination. Elon Musk is helping to fund the law suit, following through on his promise to financially back users who claim they have been discriminated against due to posts they’ve made on X (formerly Twitter).
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Carano filed the lawsuit on Tuesday (February 6th) in California federal court, alleging that she was fired for voicing right-wing opinions on social media. She’s also seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her and pay her at least $75,000, plus punitive damages.
“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, X’s head of business operations, said in a statement.
Lucasfilm fired Carano in February 2021 after the actor shared a post comparing being a Republican today to being Jewish during the Holocaust. As THR points out, her internet tirades also included anti-mask nonsense during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as false claims that voter fraud affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“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,” Carano said in a statement. “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.”
Following Carano’s initial firing, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that although he doesn’t see the company as “left-leaning or right-leaning,” he does believe Disney stands “for values that are universal: Values of respect, values of decency, values of integrity and values of inclusion. And we seek to have the content that we make reflective of the rich diversity of the world we live in. And I think that’s a world we should all live in harmony and peace.”
