Gina Carano and Disney Reach Settlement over "The Mandalorian" Firing

[JamesG]

Gina Carano Sues Disney for "The Mandalorian" Axing; Elon Musk Footing the Legal Bills
by Dominic Patten
Feb. 6, 2024


When it comes to fired "The Mandalorian" actress Gina Carano and Elon Musk, revenge against the Walt Disney Company is served piping hot, even if it takes a bit of time and tries to snare Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill.

Three years after the ex-MMA fighter was axed by the then Bob Chapek-run media giant for comparing the political climate in America to Nazi Germany, Carano today is suing Disney and Star Wars shingle Lucasfilm for dropping her from the bounty hunter series – and the X/Tesla owner is paying for her lawyers.




“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,” the jury trial-seeking complaint filed this morning in federal court says, with some Star Wars lingo tossed in for effect.

“And so it was with Carano,” the action continues.




“The rule of law still reigns over the Defendants’ empire …and Carano has returned to demand that they be held accountable for their bullying, discriminatory, and retaliatory actions—actions that inflicted not only substantial emotional harm, but millions of dollars in lost income,” the wrongful discharge and sex discrimination suit adds.




Carano and her lawyers are hoping to call Disney and Lucasfilm out for reneging on a deal and sacrificing Free Speech.

“In addition to terminating her, Defendants refused to hire her for roles already promised, including but not limited to Season 3 of The Mandalorian, the new series Rangers of the New Republic, and planned future Stars Wars full length feature films (which have recently been announced)—all because of her political beliefs and in disparate treatment from her male co-workers,” the complaint asserts.




“Defendants also discriminated against Carano by treating her differently from her male co-stars who also made public, political statements on social media,” her suit says.

“Her male co-stars were not disciplined, let alone terminated in a way to destroy their careers even though some would find their statements ‘abhorrent.'”




Musk’s team was very quick to confirm their financial support of Carano and stick the shiv in Disney’s side.

“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,” a statement released today by the Musk-owned social media platform’s head of business operations Joe Benarroch.

https://deadline.com/2024/02/gina-ca...an-1235816821/

[TMC]

Keep in mind that Gina Carano said quite a number of things on Twitter that drew negative attention (and despite being asked not to by her employer) and led to her firing. Don't you think that as long as it’s not because of her gender, disability, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation, Disney, which is a private company, can fire her for pretty much any reason?

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

Keep in mind that Gina Carano said quite a number of things on Twitter that drew negative attention (and despite being asked not to by her employer) and led to her firing. Don't you think that as long as it’s not because of her gender, disability, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation, Disney, which is a private company, can fire her for pretty much any reason?

I should correct myself a bit when I say that Gina Carano was technically, not fired from The Mandalorian. She was not under contract at the time that she posted what she posted on Twitter. Disney/LucasFilm was not legally tied to her so they merely chose to not to renew her contract.

[TMC]

This video answers the question: Can I analyze the case of Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney?

Elon Musk isn’t playing around – hot on the heels of strong indications he is teaming up with Nelson Peltz, he is now funding Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm. That’s not great news for Bob Iger ahead of Disney’s earnings call, but even worse news for Kathleen Kennedy …

[TMC]

Disney Boss Bob Iger Has Blunt Reaction to Gina Carano Lawsuit

Disney CEO Bob Iger breaks his silence on Gina Carano's lawsuit against the company.

[TMC]

Forcing Star Wars to Bring Back Gina Carano’s Cara Dune Is a Ridiculous Plan

Gina Carano wants the court to make Disney recast her as Cara Dune in Star Wars. How would that even work?

By John Saavedra

February 7, 2024

Former The Mandalorian actor Gina Carano, with financial backing from Elon Musk, has filed a lawsuit against Disney claiming she was wrongfully terminated from the show in 2021 and discriminated against for her political views and her gender. According to the complaint filed with the California federal court this week, Carano is not only seeking $75,000 in damages but also wants the court to force Disney to recast her on The Mandalorian, which would be an unprecedented turn of events for the entertainment industry and pretty ludicrous.

I’m no legal expert, but if Carano’s legal team were to somehow convince the court to rule that Disney had to bring her back as Cara Dune on a future show, how would that even work? What sort of welcome back would Carano expect to receive from a studio she reportedly has a toxic relationship with, not to mention the section of angry fans who wanted her off the series in the first place? And for just how long does Carano expect to be back on the show?

Marshal Cara Dune was officially written out of The Mandalorian last year, with the season 3 premiere explaining that she’d been recruited to New Republic special forces, out of sight and out of mind for future Star Wars stories but without completely killing off the character. In other words, there’s a way for Cara Dune to simply pop back up on The Mandalorian in the future, but I find it very hard to believe the comeback would result in a long-term recurring role for Carano on the show. Wouldn’t Disney work to find a more…permanent end for Carano’s character as quickly as possible? What is Carano trying to achieve here?

“I would love to pick up where I left off & continue my journey of creating & participating in story-telling, which is my utmost passion & everything I worked so hard for,” Carano explained in a statement on Twitter after the filing. “It has been difficult to move forward with the lies & labels stuck on me, backed & encouraged by the most powerful entertainment company in the world. I am grateful someone has come to my defense in such a powerful way & look forward to clearing my name.”

Sure, proving Disney acted in bad faith would be one way Carano could (at least in the eyes of the law, if not necessarily the public’s) “clear her name” from the accusations lodged against her, but forcing herself back into a franchise and community that really don’t seem to want her as a member hardly sounds like “moving forward.” Again, this really seems like a ridiculous plan.

Carano was let go from the Star Wars series in 2021 following a string of controversies sparked by the actor’s inflammatory social media posts, which included spreading dangerous conspiracy theories about mask mandates at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, mocking the trans community’s use of pronouns in their Twitter bios, and making false claims about voter fraud after the 2020 presidential election.

Facing public outcry from angry fans demanding her firing from Disney’s biggest TV series, Carano at the time compared the way she was being treated for her right-wing views to Jewish people during the Holocaust: “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?” she wrote in a now-deleted social post.

In February 2021, Disney confirmed that Carano would not return to the show and publicly denounced the actor’s statements, saying “her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.” THR reported at the time that Lucasfilm had “been looking for a reason to fire [Carano] for two months, and today was the final straw.” Carano was also dropped by her talent agency UTA.

Carano claimed in the suit that Disney led a “smear campaign” against her. She also argued that she was singled out for her views, while her male co-star Pedro Pascal used his social media platform to compare Donald Trump to Hitler without facing a similar disciplinary action.

“My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt right wing extremist,” Carano wrote in a statement on Twitter after the filing. “It was a bullying smear campaign aimed at silencing, destroying & making an example out of me.”

According to the court filing, “Defendants went so far as to try and convince Carano’s publicist to force Carano to issue a statement admitting to mocking or insulting an entire group of people, which Carano had never done.” This allegedly included a request for Carano to publicly apologize for comments made on social media as well as attending a meeting with a GLAAD representative and Disney employees who identify as LGBTQ+. But Carano declined.

Musk’s involvement in the case comes as part of a promise to financially back users who feel they’ve been discriminated against by their employer due to their Twitter posts. But even the billionaire’s ample war chest might not be enough to convince a judge that Disney violated Carano’s freedom of speech. As THR points out, since Disney operates in the private sector, Carano is “not shielded against discipline under the First Amendment.”

Ahead of a quarterly earnings call this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked by CNBC (via THR) whether he had any thoughts on the lawsuit. His response: “None.”

[TMC]

Gina Carano Explains Why She Wants to Return to Star Wars Role

Gina Carano addresses why her lawsuit against Disney asks for her to be recast as Cara Dune in Star Wars.

[TMC]

Gina Carano Addresses 'Important' Disney Lawsuit, Compares Elon Musk to Batman

Former Mandalorian star Gina Carano praises Elon Musk and explains why filing a lawsuit against Disney needed to happen.

[TMC]

'[I] Cried and Cried': Gina Carano Opens Up on Star Wars Firing, Fighting Back Against Disney

Gina Carano opens up about becoming "unhirable" and her desire to clear her name with her lawsuit against Disney.

[TMC]

'[We] Were So Close': Gina Carano Addresses Pedro Pascal Friendship

The Mandalorian's Gina Carano reflects on her relationship with Pedro Pascal and shares where she currently stands with her former co-star.

[JamesG]

Gina Carano “Grotesquely Trivialized The Holocaust,” Disney Says; Wants Elon Musk-Backed Suit on "The Mandalorian" Firing Tossed
by Dominic Patten
April 10, 2024


In a filing last night to dismiss Gina Carano‘s wrongful discharge and sex discrimination lawsuit over being fired from "The Mandalorian", the Mouse House states that the former MMA-fighter lost her job in 2021 because she decided “to publicly trivialize the Holocaust by comparing criticism of political conservatives to the annihilation of millions of Jewish people—notably, not ‘thousands’—was the final straw for Disney.”

Seeking a June 12 hearing in federal court in DTLA in front of Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, the Daniel Petrocelli-represented Disney insists the Elon Musk-backed action should be tossed out “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.”

https://deadline.com/2024/04/gina-ca...st-1235880689/

[JamesG]

Gina Carano Fires Back at Disney Over Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit Over "The Mandalorian" Exit
by J. Kim Murphy
April 11, 2024


Gina Carano has written that the Walt Disney Company will “take any chance they get to control what you say, what you think or they will attempt to destroy your career,” issuing a social media response to the studio’s recent motion to dismiss the actor’s lawsuit against the company.

“Disney has confirmed what has been known all along, they will fire you if you say anything they disagree with, even if they have to MISREPRESENT, MALIGN, and MISCHARACTERIZE you to do it,” Carano wrote on X on Thursday morning.



“They are now on record letting everyone who works for them know that Disney will take any chance they get to control what you say, what you think or they will attempt to destroy your career. Glad we cleared that up.

The First Amendment does not allow Disney to wantonly DISCRIMINATE, which is what they have done in my case and frankly have now admitted they did. If you ever wanted to know what today’s ‘Disney values’ are, they just told you.”

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/gin...it-1235968506/

[TMC]

Gina Carano Reaffirms Hopes of Star Wars Return Despite Disney Lawsuit

Gina Carano comments on her lawsuit against Disney while confirming her desire to return to the Star Wars franchise.

[JamesG]

Gina Carano Officially Rejects Disney’s Desire to Dismiss her Discrimination Suit, Counters Mouse House’s “Carte Blanche Authority” to Fire Her
by Dominic Patten
May 10, 2024


A month after Disney and Lucasfilm filed paperwork to have Gina Carano’s wrongful-discharge and sex-discrimination suit tossed out, the fired "Mandalorian" star has kicked back to keep her Elon Musk-backed legal action off the mat.

A hearing on the dismissal motion by Disney and the other defendants against former MMA star Carano has been set for June 12 in DTLA before Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett.




“After admitting that they discriminated against Carano for her personal political beliefs and subjected her to disparate treatment from her similarly situated male co-stars, The Walt Disney Company, Lucasfilm LTD, and Huckleberry Industries (collectively, “Defendants”) assert that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives them absolute immunity,” says the May 9 response to defendants motion to dismiss from Carano’s Schaerr Jaffe lawyers filed in federal court here in LA.

“Defendants are incorrect. Neither the First Amendment itself nor the few cases applying the First Amendment in the context of casting give employers the right to control or punish the personal speech of employees. None of Carano’s comments reference Defendants, Star Wars, or The Mandalorian, or had anything to do with Defendants. Carano’s claims do not seek to impose any message on Defendants or to change Defendants’ speech in any fashion.”

“Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss should be denied,” Carano’s team states, noting “the First Amendment does not give Defendants the carte blanche authority to terminate Carano for expressing her personal beliefs.”

https://deadline.com/2024/05/gina-ca...ss-1235912177/

[JamesG]

Gina Carano Beats Disney’s Move to Kill "The Mandalorian" Firing Suit; Trial Looms
by Dominic Patten
July 24, 2024


Disney has failed to get Gina Carano’s discrimination lawsuit over her 2021 firing from "The Mandalorian" dismissed.

While no date has been set, it is clear at this point that Carano’s Elon Musk-backed suit is heading towards trial pending a pricey settlement, which is certainly not out of the question in an increasingly messy matter like this.



“Defendants have not identified any evidence — in the Complaint or otherwise — to substantiate a claim that they employ public-facing actors for the purpose of promoting the ‘values of respect,’ ‘decency,’ ‘integrity,’ or ‘inclusion,'” California-based Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett asserted Wednesday in an order kneecapping Disney’s move to see Carano’s legal action tossed.

“Accordingly, Defendants’ invocation of the supposedly detrimental effects of Plaintiff’s ‘mere presence’ as one of Defendants’ employees lacks constitutional import.”

https://deadline.com/2024/07/gina-ca...al-1236021090/