Disney Says It Had Right To Fire ‘Mandalorian’ Star Gina Carano For Right-Wing Tweets

Disney has posed a robust defense against Gina Carano, the former star of The Mandalorian, who filed a lawsuit against Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Co. in February 2021, alleging wrongful termination. Disney has submitted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and cited a constitutional right to dissociate themselves from Carano’s controversial anti-trans statements.

According to court records, Disney outlined its reasons for severing ties with Carano in the motion filed on Tuesday in California Central District federal court. The actress, known for her background in mixed martial arts, portrayed the character of bounty hunter Cara Dune.

The motion argues that Disney possesses the constitutional right to disassociate its artistic expression from Carano’s speech, invoking the First Amendment as a complete defense against her claims. 

Carano had faced backlash after she shared social media posts that mocked transgender rights, criticized COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mask usage, questioned the integrity of the 2020 election, and drew a controversial comparison between the treatment of conservatives and Jews during the Holocaust.

Disney’s motion for dismissal states, “Carano’s decision to publicly trivialize the Holocaust by comparing criticism of political conservatives to the annihilation of millions of Jewish people — notably, not ‘thousands’ — was the final straw for Disney.” 

On the same day Carano made the Holocaust-related post, Disney announced her termination and cited her “abhorrent and unacceptable” language directed toward individuals of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. 

The company further asserts that Carano’s growing fame as her character gained popularity led to her engagement with fans and the public in a manner that, from Disney’s perspective, began to distract from and undermine the company’s creative endeavors. Carano’s lawsuit alleges that she was fired due to her refusal to comply with the demands of an “online bully mob” advocating an extreme progressive ideology.

As presented in the motion, Disney’s position counters Carano’s claims, and the case now awaits further legal proceedings.