Gina Carano may no longer be fighting the Galactic Empire on The Mandalorian but her battle against Disney is still ongoing.
The lawsuit filed by the Elite XC and Strikeforce veteran is moving ahead with a trial looming after Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett denied a motion from Disney to dismiss the case. Garnett issued her ruling in a 23-page judgment on Wednesday.
“In sum, Defendants have failed to set forth an “impenetrable defense” under the First Amendment,” Garnett wrote in her ruling. ”Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the Court denies Defendants’ Motion.”
The lawsuit, filed by Carano and backed by Twitter owner Elon Musk, comes after the fighter-turned-actor was terminated from her role as Cara Dune in the popular Star Wars spinoff series following a string of controversial messages posted on her social media accounts.
Lucasfilm, the studio owned by Disney that runs the Star Wars universe, issued a statement back in 2021 saying that Carano was “not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future.”
The studio also denounced social media posts from Carano, which included a message that seemingly compared living as a conservative in the United States to the atrocities suffered by the Jewish people during the holocaust in Nazi Germany.
“Her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable,” Lucasfilm said in the statement.
Carano was removed from her recurring character status in The Mandalorian along with plans for a future series called Rangers of the New Republic, which did not end up moving forward at Disney. Her agents at UTA also dropped her as a client.
In the initial lawsuit filed against Disney, Carano argued that she was bullied on social media and Disney/Lucasfilm harassed her over her views regarding Black Lives Matter, her problems with gender pronouns, and for rallying against mandates issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carano also claimed that Disney took no action against her male co-stars, who she argued also made controversial statements on social media but faced no reprisal as a result.
Carano is seeking to have her role on The Mandalorian reinstated along with a sum of at least $75,000 and punitive damages as a result of her firing.
That led to Disney filing for the motion to dismiss “on the grounds that Disney has a constitutional right not to associate its artistic expression with Carano’s speech, such that the First Amendment provides a complete defense to Carano’s claims.”
Apparently, the judge disagreed with the argument.
With Disney’s motion to dismiss denied, Carano’s lawsuit is moving ahead to trial unless the two parties come to a financial settlement before a jury actually hears the case. Given the public nature of a potential trial, a settlement seems likely, but it remains to be seen how hard Disney will continue to fight this case.
Good. Hope she wins. Fuck degenerate DisGay.
$75k? I thought it would be more
Go woke go broke
Let’s go Gina! God I hope she wins and somehow changes case law from here on out.
It would be way more, when you write up the lawsuit you have to put a number and then you let the jury decide the amount. I think Disney wins as they can fire her in most states for that but we will see.
Gina Carano may not see the inside of a courtroom for her lawsuit against Disney until late 2025, but she’s already gearing up for a future showdown against the mouse house.
The ex-Elite XC and Strikeforce fighter filed a lengthy lawsuit against Disney after she was fired from her role as Cara Dune in the Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian. Her exit from the show came after Carano made several controversial posts on social media, including a post that that seemingly compared living as a conservative in the United States to the atrocities suffered by the Jewish people during the holocaust in Nazi Germany.
With backing from Twitter owner Elon Musk, the now 42-year-old former fighter filed a lawsuit against Disney. Just last week, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett denied a motion to dismiss from Disney, which set the stage for an eventual trial.
New paperwork filed by Carano’s attorneys and Disney reveal potential witness lists as well as a possible start date for the trial — if the lawsuit makes it that far.
The attorneys proposed a start date on Sept. 29, 2025 with the trial expected to last one week.
Among Carano’s witnesses who could potentially be called to testify in the trial were series star Pedro Pascal, series creator and showrunner Jon Favreau, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.
In her original lawsuit filing, Carano argued that she faced retribution for her behavior on social media, but the same actions weren’t taken against Pascal and other male members of the cast.
As for Favreau, he championed Carano’s inclusion on The Mandalorian where she appeared in multiple episodes throughout the first two seasons. There were tentative plans for Carano to potentially crossover and star in one of the roles on a spinoff series called The Rangers of the New Republic, but the show was eventually scrapped.
Carano also listed United Talent Agency as a potential witness after she was released by her talent agency following the controversial social media posts.
While all the various arguments could face scrutiny in court, Carano and Disney definitely disagree about the definition of her employment at the time she was allegedly fired from her role. In the original statement released in response to Carano’s controversial social media posts, Disney representatives said she was “not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future.”
Obviously, Carano and her attorneys believe otherwise.
Carano is seeking damages for the loss of her employment, the loss of future employment, emotional distress, punitive damages, equitable relief and attorneys’ fees. Carano also sought to regain her employment with Disney so she could resume her role on The Mandalorian.
Several dates are proposed for disclosures, discovery and other motions to be filed with the attorneys targeting September 2025 for the trial date. It remains to be seen if Disney goes to court, or potentially reaches a settlement with Carano, before that happens.
Awesome. Go Gina. F Disney.
Hope my girl Gina gets paid lots and lots of Caranos…
