Gina Carano’s lawsuit against Disney will proceed after judge rejects motion to dismiss
Former Disney actress Gina Carano can file a lawsuit against her old employer alleging she was wrongly fired because of her political views, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett rejected Disney’s previous motion to dismiss the case, writing that it “failed to establish an ‘unreasonable defence’ under the First Amendment.” Carano has accused the company of firing her for “refusing to support movements and ideologies” including Black Lives Matter, COVID lockdowns and pronoun sharing.
Disney argued in the motion that the company has a right to separate from Carano because she does not express the company’s values. Judge Garnett ruled that Disney did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that actors were hired or fired based on promoting the company’s values.
Gina Carano was emotional after the verdict
Gina Carano, who previously starred in the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” celebrated the verdict in a post after the dismissal.
“I am emotional. After 3 1/2 years of brutal incarceration, I am being allowed to move forward in a court of law in front of a judge and my peers to clear my name. I am so grateful for this opportunity. What happened to me was unacceptable, absurd, and outrageous, among other things. It should not have happened to me, and it should not happen to anyone else going forward. Let it end here,” Carano wrote.
She added, “I’ve fought very hard to get where I am in my career, with many ups and downs, and I will continue to do the work I love. I am grateful to all of you who have supported and defended me, and I am very sorry that some of you have been in similar situations. I want you to know that I see you and I stand with you.”
She also thanked X owner Elon Musk, who has funded the lawsuit since it was announced in February. A statement from X Corp at the time said, “The online platform is proud to provide financial support for Carano’s lawsuit, allowing her to assert her free speech rights and her ability to work at X without bullying, harassment, or discrimination.” Also read – Christina Hall Calls Ex-Josh ‘An Insecure Man’ Amid Divorce
More about the Gina Carano lawsuit
Carano filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm earlier this year, claiming she was illegally fired from her role on the 2021 “Star Wars” show, “The Mandalorian,” after she aired her conservative political views on social media.
At the time of her ouster, Disney announced it was parting ways with Carano, saying her “social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities … are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
In a motion to dismiss filed in April, the company argued it has a “constitutional right not to conflate its artistic expression with Carano’s speech” and that it was acting based on the First Amendment.
In the April filing, Disney said a post-Carano posted on Instagram that compared the treatment of contemporary conservatives to Jewish people in Nazi Germany was the “final hurdle” in their decision to end their working relationship with the actor.
Gina Carano had previously faced criticism for social media posts that mocked trans rights, criticized the COVID-19 vaccine and questioned the results of the 2020 election.