Likening Disney to the iconic Death Star from numerous Star Wars films, actor Gina Carano has filed suit against the entertainment giant over her termination from the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian," saying Disney illegally attempted to obliterate her career from orbit in retaliation for her online speech expressing generally conservative political views.
According to online reports, billionaire Elon Musk is helping to pay Carano's legal bill, because she was terminated, in part, for statements she made on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which Musk owns.
In the lawsuit, Carano asserts her abrupt 2021 firing from the uber-popular Star Wars television series cost her potentially many millions of dollars in lost income and other television and film opportunities, and violated California law.
The lawsuit also claims Disney discriminated against her on the basis of sex, because the studios did not similarly take action against Carano's male co-stars, including "The Mandalorian" lead actor Pedro Pascal and Luke Skywalker star, Mark Hammill, both of whom have persistently expressed left-wing statements online, which, she notes, carry the potential to be as culturally divisive as a lightsaber blow to the arm.
"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," Carano wrote in her complaint. "And so it was with Carano."
The lawsuit centers on Carano's abrupt removal from "The Mandalorian" in February 2021.
For two seasons, Carano had portrayed the character of Cara Dune, a former Ranger of the Rebel Alliance, who had turned mercenary, but was ultimately persuaded to turn legitimate once more, amid a series of Western-style sci-fi adventures with her "Mandalorian" co-stars in the galaxy far, far away.
The character proved highly popular, and marked a new high point in the acting career of Carano, an accomplished mixed martial arts fighter.
The character proved so popular, that Disney offered Carano a starring role in a planned "Mandalorian" spinoff, called "Rangers of the New Republic." According to the complaint, Carano, as a series regular, expected to be paid at least $150,000 per episode for the next six years, which would have been in accord with Disney's pay structure for other regulars performing on series for Disney's streaming platform, Disney+.
Since each series typically produces 8-10 episodes per season, Carano estimates the contract could have been worth more than $7 million in pay for Carano.
Further, Carano said she had been told by "Mandalorian" producer Jon Favreau that she would have been featured in new Star Wars feature films based around the characters in "The Mandalorian."
However, amid continued social unrest in 2020 and 2021, as riots roiled America's cities under the banner of the Black Lives Matter movement, Carano publicly espoused political positions in opposition to the support Disney, like most American corporations, expressed for the left-wing uprising.
Further, Carano refused to join her name to the long list of Hollywood celebrities expressing support for LGBTQ causes, notably including the favor showered by Hollywood and corporate America on the transgender rights movement.
In response, Carano became a lightning rod for online outrage from many, and was repeatedly called a "racist" and "'a transphobic bitch' for not including pronouns in her (social media) profile's biography section."
At one point, Carano revised her bio to include, in place of pronouns, the phrase "boop/bop/beep," in reference to sounds that a droid may make when speaking on Star Wars. That decision drew more outrage from people who accused her of mocking the trans movement. Carano denied that was her intention, but was intended to expose "the bullying mentality of the mob that has taken over the voices of many genuine causes."
Carano was also attacked online for questioning the decisions of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden and other Democratic governors and officials to continue lockdown-style orders and restrictions in the name of fighting Covid-19, and particularly restrictions on churches and other religious gatherings.
According to the complaint, throughout the online abuse, Carano persistently spoke out against bullying, such as that she said she was experiencing.
Throughout the online assault, Disney did not defend Carano's right to speak. Rather, Carano says the company forced her to participate in long meetings and calls, at times with trans activists, "demanding an explanation and criticizing her for not embracing what some see as mandatory solidarity with a vocal element of the transgender activist community."
"Even when she expressed that Defendants’ demands were excessive and asked for some time away from the constant meetings, (Disney) refused, demanding that she continue with her 'reeducation' program," Carano said in her complaint.
However, following the 2020 presidential election, when Carano posted an online message appearing to question the validity of Biden's victory over Donald Trump, the actor came under renewed online assault and a hashtag campaign demanding Disney fire Carano.
Within weeks, Disney and Lucasfilm announced they were terminating Carano, claiming she was “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities." Carano asserts that claim is false, saying "she was doing just the opposite, opposing such denigration and targeting of people just because they hold different beliefs."
According to the complaint, Carano learned of her termination on social media, after Disney announced the action to the press.
Further, Carano asserts Disney's actions against her resulted in her being blacklisted in Hollywood, as numerous invitations to "read for new movies, ... to attend high profile events, and even opportunities to promote her work immediately stopped."
Carano's complaint notes that this alleged mistreatment came despite praise from her "Mandalorian" co-stars, who, when interviewed, had nothing but praise for her as an actor and a person.
Further, Carano notes that Disney took no similar actions against her co-stars when they spoke out on social media in support of the left-wing activists who subjected her to online attacks.
Carano noted Pascal has routinely spoken on social media in strong support of LGBTQ causes and left-wing protests, including statements about the 2020 elections.
Further, Carano noted Pascal and Star Wars icon Hamill posted several times to social media, likening Trump and his political supporters to Nazis and Confederate American traitors.
And Carano also noted Disney rehired "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn, despite vulgar online statements about rape and insinuating pedophilia.
Carano noted she supported the rights of her co-stars and others to express themselves. But she said she offered the posts to demonstrate Disney's allegedly discriminatory treatment toward her.
Carano is seeking a judgment declaring Disney violated California law by terminating her; requiring Disney to return her to her former role within the Star Wars universe; and requiring Disney and Lucasfilm to pay her unspecified damages, potentially worth many millions, for her lost income and career opportunities, as well as for emotional distress, and punitive damages to punish Disney for its alleged misconduct.
Carano is represented in the action by attorneys Donald M. Falk, Gene C. Schaerr, H. Christopher Bartolomucci and Edward H. Trent, of the firm of Schaerr Jaffe LLP, of San Francisco and Washington, D.C.