Disney Is Attempting To Get Gina Carano’s Lawsuit Dismissed

Outside of the divisive reception of the recent Star Wars theatrical films and television shows, one of the biggest controversies surrounding the franchise was the ousting of former female MMA fighter turned actress Gina Carano. The actress, who portrayed the character of Cara Dune in The Mandalorian and was meant to star in the now-canceled series Rangers of the New Republic, was fired as a result of a social media post. 

Carano made a post comparing the political climate of late 2020/early 2021 to that of Nazi Germany, where the Jewish people were harassed and attacked by their neighbors, and how that resembled the political cancel culture many were facing at the time of her post. Not long afterward, Lucasfilm announced her firing, despite other actors, such as Pedro Pascal, who had made similar social media posts.

Now, Carano is seeking a wrongful termination suit against Disney with the financial backing of X owner Elon Musk. Musk stated shortly after his acquisition of Twitter (Now “X”) that if anyone was fired for their tweets, he would fund their legal case. Carano is seeking a trial date of June 12th and is not only seeking potential financial compensation due to the termination but also wishes to return to her role as Cara Dune.

However, Disney wishes to have the case dismissed, citing the First Amendment, stating “On the grounds that Disney has a constitutional right not to associate its artistic expression with Carano’s speech, such that the First Amendment provides a complete defense to Carano’s claims.“

A filing Disney made on April 9th stated the following:

“Carano’s social-media usage sunk to its nadir on February 10, 2021. On that day, she reposted an Instagram post from user warriorpriestgympodcast. The post read: ‘Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children. Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?’“

“Disney had enough. The same day Carano grotesquely trivialized the Holocaust as comparable to sharp political disagreements, Lucasfilm announced that ‘Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.’ A month later, Disney’s former CEO explained that Carano’s views ‘didn’t align with Company values,’ including its ‘values of respect, values of decency, values of integrity, and values of inclusion.“

It should be noted that in January 2023, an article published by the mostly Disney-owned National Geographic about the Holocaust seemingly echoed aspects of Carano’s social media post. This and Disney’s differing response to politically charged social media posts made by other Lucasfilm actors make Disney’s stance on the situation appear politically one-sided and hypocritical. 



Only time will tell if this suit makes it to court, if she will win her case, or if Disney will succeed in getting it dismissed. 

What do you think? Will Carano win her case? Will she get her epic return to Star Wars? Let us know.

Source: Deadline