Gina Carano Accuses Disney Of Staging A “Smear Campaign” After Her ‘Mandalorian’ Firing In New Discrimination Lawsuit Funded By Elon Musk

Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination after she was suddenly fired from The Mandalorian over her social media activity.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the actress’ lawsuit will be funded by Elon Musk, who vowed to pay the legal expenses for any X user who claims to be facing discrimination for their activity on the platform, with “no limit” on costs.

The lawsuit reads, “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.”

Carano was fired from The Mandalorian in 2021 and written off of Season 3 after she shared a post in which she equated having right-wing views to being Jewish during the Holocaust. She was also dropped by her agency, UTA.

At the time, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that Carano’s Instagram post was “the final straw” for Disney, who have been “looking for a reason to fire her for two months” after she initially made multiple controversial posts on X, then known as Twitter.

In the lawsuit, Carano accuses Disney of launching a “post-termination smear campaign” against her. She claims that she was removed from an episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls in an “effort to malign” her.

The lawsuit also claims Disney and Lucasfilm “targeted, harassed, publicly humiliated, defamed, and went to great lengths to destroy Carano’s career, all because she made political statements that did not align with what they believed was an acceptable viewpoint.” It also stipulates at multiple times that Carano’s male co-stars were not disciplined for sharing their own political beliefs.

In a statement, Carano said, “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.”

X’s head of business operations Joe Benarroch announced the company was “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.”

Carano seeks for Lucasfilm to hire her back onto The Mandalorian. She also seeks compensatory damages of at least $75,000, punitive damages, and compensatory loss for missing out on future opportunities, including the spinoff series Rangers of The New Republic.