Lucasfilm and Disney settle with actor Gina Carano following her firing from ‘The Mandalorian’
By ITZEL LUNA
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Gina Carano has settled her federal lawsuit against Lucasfilm and its parent The Walt Disney Co. over her claim that she was fired from “The Mandalorian” in 2021 for expressing right-wing views on social media.
The specific terms of the agreement were not made available.
“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,” Lucasfilm said in a statement. “With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
The two sides stipulated in a federal court filing Thursday that the case should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled. A judge still needs to formally dismiss it. The case had been scheduled to go to trial in Los Angeles in February of next year.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California last year, alleged Carano was wrongfully terminated from the “Star Wars” galaxy Disney+ series after two seasons due to a post likening the treatment of American conservatives to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany. Her posts were widely criticized online and spurred a trending #FireGinaCarano hashtag.
“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,” Carano wrote in a statement Thursday. “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.”
Carano thanked Elon Musk for helping fund the lawsuit “and asking for nothing in return.” The suit had alleged that the 43-year-old actor was fired because she “dared voice her own opinions” against an “online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.”
Carano is a former mixed martial artist who played the recurring character Cara Dune on the show, which launched in 2019 and ran for three seasons. A feature film starring Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” is set for release next summer.
Carano had previously been criticized for mocking mask wearing during the pandemic and making false allegations of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
