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Gina Carano Responds to Disney’s Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuit Over ‘Mandalorian’ Departure. She alleges Company’s Intolerance of Differing Views.
Carano has expressed her belief that the Walt Disney Company engages in controlling speech and thoughts, or may endeavor to derail careers, in response to the studio’s recent motion to dismiss the actor’s legal action against them. Carano, known for her role in Disney+’s “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” was terminated from the show in February 2021 after making remarks that likened the treatment of modern-day conservatives to historical persecution. In February of this year, she filed a lawsuit against Disney, asserting that her dismissal was a form of unlawful retaliation for expressing her political beliefs, which diverge from Disney’s purported ideological stance. Disney countered with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Tuesday, citing its First Amendment right to terminate Carano and its prerogative to distance itself from her speech.
On Thursday morning, Carano took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share her perspective: “Disney has reaffirmed a long-held perception: they are willing to terminate employees who express dissenting views, even if they resort to misrepresentation, defamation, and distortion to achieve it,” she stated. “They have now publicly declared their intention to oversee and dictate expressions of speech and thought, or may seek to undermine one’s professional trajectory. This unequivocally confirms their stance. The First Amendment does not sanction Disney’s arbitrary discriminatory practices, which have been manifest in my case, a fact they now acknowledge.
If you’ve ever wondered about the ‘Disney values’ of today, they’ve just elucidated them.” Prior to her termination, Carano had courted controversy with her posts on social and political matters, including views on COVID restrictions, the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and transgender rights. Disney’s motion to dismiss pointed to Carano’s statement, “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?” as the “final straw.” Elon Musk, the proprietor of X/Twitter, as well as CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, is providing financial support for Carano’s lawsuit. Musk announced in August of the previous year his intention to cover legal fees for individuals terminated due to their posts on the social media platform.
