Disney terminated the contract of actress Gina Carano due to her provocative social media content. Carano had shared her views on sensitive topics such as the Holocaust, the pandemic, and transgender rights.
An actor from the Star Wars franchise, supported by Elon Musk’s X, has filed a lawsuit against Disney for terminating her contract due to controversial remarks made on social media regarding the Holocaust, the pandemic, and transgender rights.
Carano’s legal action claims that her termination by Disney was a result of expressing her personal political beliefs, and she faced relentless harassment from an online group identified as an “extreme progressive” mob. The lawsuit further asserts that Disney’s actions and statements have caused significant harm to her reputation and future employment prospects. In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Carano announced the initiation of the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the legal expenses are being covered by X. Carano, known for her candid nature and transition from martial arts to acting, was dismissed by Disney due to what the company described as “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts that demeaned individuals based on their cultural and religious backgrounds.
Carano’s controversial post drew attention as it seemed to draw a comparison between being a conservative in the United States and being Jewish in Nazi Germany. The post highlighted how the government in Nazi Germany fueled hatred towards Jews by making their own neighbors despise them solely based on their Jewish identity. It questioned the difference between hating someone for their political views and the persecution faced by Jews during that time, accompanied by a graphic image of a Jewish woman being assaulted in Nazi Germany.
In another post, Carano appeared to ridicule an individual for wearing multiple masks during the Covid-19 pandemic in California.
Prior to these incidents, Carano had faced criticism from members of the transgender community for including “boop/bop/beep” as her preferred pronouns on her Twitter profile.
In her statement on Tuesday, Carano asserted that she had never employed any form of aggressive language. Instead, she claimed to have shared thought-provoking posts that were accompanied by respect and occasional humor.
Both her statement and the legal action assert that Carano was given less opportunity to exercise her fredom of speech compared to some of her male colleagues.
Carano mentioned that she was approached by a lawyer from X who offered to represent her after she publicly responded to an open invitation from Musk to assist anyone who was terminated for utilizing X to express their opinions freely.
“On Tuesday, X officially announced their support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit as a demonstration of X Corp’s dedication to free speech,” stated an official post.
Although the lawsuit does not specify the exact amount of damages Carano is seeking, it does state that she lost a role in the planned Mandalorian spin-off, Rangers of the New Republic, which would have been valued at “$150,000 to $250,000 per episode.”