Gina Carano, known for her role in “The Mandalorian,” is suing Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination, and X owner Elon Musk is backing the suit.
Carano was fired in Feb. 2021 by the production company behind the “Star Wars” spinoff for what it called “abhorrent” social media posts from the actress. She compared Nazi Germany to politics today and mocked face masks worn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, claims Carano was terminated “all because she dared voice her own opinions, on social media platforms and elsewhere, and stood up to the online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.”
Lucasfilm said at the time of her firing that the company did not intend on employing the actress in the future. The company said her posts “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
X, the company formerly known as Twitter, posted on its platform that the company is committed to free speech and is “proud to provide” financial support for Carano’s lawsuit to empower the actress “to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination.”
Carano alleged that the company “chose to target a woman while looking the other way when it came to men” in the lawsuit, since the company “took no action” against male actors who also posted controversial statements online.
She posted on X that during her career with Disney and Lucasfilm she was “being hunted down” and that her words were “consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize” her.
“A couple months ago @ElonMusk tweeted that if you had been fired from using the platform (X) for exercising your right to free speech, he would like to offer these people legal representation,” her post said. “To my surprise, a few months ago I received an email from a lawyer who had been hired by X to look into my story & many others.”
The actress said she was grateful that Musk came to her rescue and looks forward to clearing her name so she can continue to work.
The Hill has reached out to Carano’s lawyer for more information.