Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company have reached a mutual agreement in their legal dispute with Gina Carano following her firing from “The Mandalorian.”
A Lucasfilm spokesperson said in a statement provided to Variety, “The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies. Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect. With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
Carano was fired from “The Mandalorian” in 2021 after sharing several controversial social media posts, including one that compared being a Republican to being Jewish during the Holocaust. She was also dropped as a client by UTA at the time. In 2024, Carano filed suit in California federal court alleging wrongful termination and discrimination, as well as a demand that the court should force Lucasfilm to cast her again and pay at least $75,000 in punitive damages.
Disney’s lawyers filed a motion in April 2024 to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that it had a First Amendment right to fire the actor, stating it has “a constitutional right not to associate its artistic expression with Carano’s speech.”
Carano fired back in a post on X, writing, “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. 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.”
Carano’s lawsuit was funded by Elon Musk, the owner of X, as well as the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Musk declared in 2023 that he would pay legal bills for people who had been fired for their posts on the social media platform.
Carano wrote on X on Thursday morning, “… and the truth shall set you free.”
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Later that day, she posted a longer statement reacting to the settlement on X, writing, “I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm … which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved. I hope this brings some healing to the force. I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk … a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit. Thank you Mr. Musk and @X for backing my case and asking for nothing in return. To my lawyers at … Schaerr|Jaffe who walked me through this unknown territory, thank you for your wisdom and guidance. I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome. I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career, you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud. I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me. Yes, I’m smiling. From my heart to yours, Gina.”
From Variety US