Bob Iger appeared unenthused when
questioned about Gina Carano's lawsuit during The Mandalorian actress' attempt
to compel the company to rehire her for Star Wars projects. Elon Musk is
reportedly supporting Carano's lawsuit financially through X. When CNBC
inquired about Musk's involvement in backing the suit, and the potential for
similar actions against Disney, Iger responded tersely, "None."
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| Gina Carano (right) on the set of 'The Mandalorian |
Carano's lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm alleges discrimination and wrongful termination, contending that her dismissal was a result of expressing right-wing viewpoints on social media. Iger's remarks were made prior to The Walt Disney Co.'s fourth-quarter earnings call with investors.
Musk has recently taken to Twitter
to express his disdain for Disney, with tweets such as "Disney sucks," in response to
rumors about Ayo Edebiri potentially replacing Johnny Depp in Pirates 6. He
also shared an alleged Disney inclusion standards document, denouncing it as
"mandatory, institutionalized racism
and sexism."
Last year, Musk pledged to
financially support legal action for individuals on his platform, X, who claim
they have faced discrimination by their employers due to their activities on
the platform. Musk stated there would be "no limit" on costs, and he vowed to target the boards of
directors of such companies.
In November, Musk rebuked advertisers like Disney who boycotted his platform over controversial or offensive posts, bluntly stating, "If someone is going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself, is that clear? Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise."
In 2021, Carano was terminated from
her role following a series of right-wing social media posts, one of which
compared the treatment of Jews by Nazi soldiers to modern political divides.
According to her complaint, Disney and Lucasfilm subjected Carano to harassment
and defamation for her refusal to align with their stances on issues like Black
Lives Matter, preferred pronouns, and claims of election interference.
While she alleges her termination was based on her cultural and religious beliefs, Carano argues that the company ignored offensive posts from her male co-stars, such as Pedro Pascal's 2017 tweet comparing former President Donald Trump to Hitler.
The lawsuit states that Carano was
instructed to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 LGBTQ+
identified employees, a meeting she declined. Shortly after, she was terminated
from The Mandalorian and other Star Wars projects, including Rangers of the New
Republic.
