Why is Gina Carano suing Lucasfilm and is Elon Musk really footing the bill?

The Mandalorian actress Gina Carano is in the midst of a lawsuit battle with Disney and Lucasfilm, following her firing from the television series for voicing far-right opinions on X (formerly known as Twitter). While Carano’s wrongful termination suit might seem messy enough, it’s made more complicated by the involvement of X owner Elon Musk, who pledged in 2023 to fund the legal action of users who claim they’ve faced discrimination over their posts on the platform. 

For those who need a refresher, Carano was fired from The Mandalorian and other titles in the Star Wars universe in 2021, following her string of controversial takes on hot-button issues on social media. Lucasfilm, the television company behind The Mandalorian and owned by Disney, described Carano’s posts in a post-termination statement as “abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Now, the case is receiving renewed attention as Carano files a lawsuit against both Disney and Lucasfilm, with Elon Musk footing the bill. Here’s a deep dive into everything we know about Carano suing Disney. 

Why is Gina Carano suing Lucasfilm?

Filed on February 6, 2024, Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm alleges that the production companies wrongfully terminated her from The Mandalorian for sharing far-right views on social media. The posts in question saw Carano voice controversial opinions which compared being a Republican to being a Jewish person in Nazi Germany, as well as ridiculing mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic and furthering false suggestions of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election. 

In a statement at the time of her dismissal, a Lucasfilm spokesperson said Carano’s posts were responsible for “denigrating people” based on their religious and cultural identities, and confirmed the actress was no longer employed at the company. As a result, Carano was pulled from the cast of The Mandalorian, as well as the fellow Star Wars spinoff Rangers of the New Republic. She was also dropped by her agency, UTA. 

In what the suit describes as a post-termination smear campaign, Carano also alleges that Disney omitted her name and likeness in promotional materials for an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls in which she guest starred. In her own response to the firing on social media, Carano said she “was being hunted down” because the posts and opinions she shared were “not in line” with the “acceptable narrative” of the time. The actress said her opinions were shared “not with aggression but with respect.” 

Much of this same sentiment informs the new lawsuit brought against Lucasfilm, which claims Carano was harassed and defamed for failing to conform with the company’s views on topics like Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns, and 2020 election interference. The suit also claims that her male co-stars were able to share derogatory comments about Republicans without punishment, citing Pedro Pascal’s 2017 post comparing Donald Trump to Hitler. 

The suit is seeking $75, 000 in damages, claiming wrongful termination and sexual discrimination. It also entails a court order which would require Lucasfilm to recast her on the shows she previously worked on. The lawsuit details an incident in which Carano was required by Disney to attend a meeting with LGBTQ+ group GLAAD, after posts that were deemed anti-trans. 

Carano refused, and was allegedly asked to meet again with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and a group of LGBTQ+ Disney employees. The suit alleges that Carano was fired after refusing to attend that meeting, as well as failing to issue a public apology for her posts relating to the LGBTQ+ community. In a statement following the filing, Carano said she was “singled out, harassed [and] persecuted” for “[refusing] to go along with the mob.”

Is Elon Musk really footing the bill for Gina Carano’s lawsuit?

Elon Musk’s involvement in the lawsuit stems from the billionaire’s 2023 promise to foot the legal bills of users who claim to have been discriminated against in the workplace because of their posts on X/Twitter. The pledge, supposedly made in service of the right to free speech, will be fulfilled on X’s end for Carano, with the platform’s head of operations making a statement about the lawsuit. 

“We’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit,” Joe Benarroch said. The funding is said to be a sign of X’s commitment to free speech, allowing Carano “to seek vindication” against bullying and harassment in the workplace. Responding to X’s assistance in a statement, Carano said she has the “deepest gratitude” to Musk for defending her in “such a powerful way.”  

Neither Disney nor Lucasfilm have issued a statement responding to the lawsuit at the time of writing.