Elon Musk is funding ex-'Mandalorian' actress' lawsuit against Disney
Elon Musk stung the Walt Disney Company again on Tuesday by agreeing to fund a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by “Mandalorian” actress Gina Carano.
“Please let us know if you would like to join the lawsuit against Disney,” Mr. Musk wrote, apparently looking for other plaintiffs, in a post on X, which he bought in 2022.
Disney dropped Ms. Carano, a former mixed martial artist, from “The Mandalorian” in 2021 after she espoused baseless conspiracy theories and right-wing views, some seen as homophobic and anti-Semitic, in a series of social media posts. Her character was written out of the series. Lucasfilm, the Disney division that makes “The Mandalorian,” said in a statement at the time that Ms. Carano's “social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Also United Talent Agency dropped Ms. Carano.
Ms. Carano's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in California, seeks an injunction forcing Disney and Lucasfilm to weave her “Mandalorian” character back into episodes and recast her in the role. (She worked as a “guest actor” and was paid $25,000 for each episode she appeared in.) She is also suing for damages.
Mr. Musk has elbowed Disney and its CEO, Robert A. Iger, since Disney and X's other major advertisers, including Apple, halted spending on the platform in mid-November. The advertisers took action after Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. He seemed especially angry about Disney's decision to remove ads; Other Hollywood companies in particular followed Disney's example.
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Disney spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment on this article on Tuesday.
In late November, Mr. Musk verbally attacked Mr. Iger from the stage of The New York Times' DealBook Summit. (Citing Disney's removal of ads, which Mr. Musk called “blackmail,” the billionaire used an expletive to tell Mr. Iger to go away.) In December, after Disney stood its ground, Mr. Musk wrote X that Mr. Iger “should be fired,” adding that “Walt Disney is rolling in his grave over what Bob did to his company.”
More recently, Mr. Musk has cheered Nelson Peltz, an activist investor who, along with the disgruntled former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, is waging a proxy battle to win two seats on Disney's board.
“Brutal track record,” Mr. Musk wrote on X on Jan. 18, amplifying a Trian Partners post by Mr. Peltz that highlighted Disney's underperforming stock. “Shareholders have been incredibly poorly served by @Disney's board!”
Disney has vigorously defended its governance, along with Mr. Iger's record. Mr. Iger, who retired in 2022 to take back the reins of Disney, has dramatically cut costs, boosted growth at the Disney parks and reorganized the company to improve film quality, among other things.
Asked about the extent of Mr. Peltz's relationship with Mr. Musk, a Trian spokesman had no immediate comment. Mr. Peltz and Mr. Musk were photographed together Saturday at the Los Angeles premiere of “Lola,” an independent film that one of Mr. Peltz's daughters wrote, directed and starred in.
X's chief operating officer, Joe Benarroch, said in a statement that Mr Musk's company was “proud to provide financial support to Gina Carano's lawsuit, giving her the power to exercise her right to free speech on to defend themselves and to be able to work without harassment. harassment or discrimination.”
Last year, Mr Musk pledged to fund legal action for X users who said they had been discriminated against at work because of their posts on the platform. At the time, he said he would “also go after the companies' boards of directors.”
Ms. Carano's lawsuit said: “A short time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy of thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated. And so it was with Carano.”
Lauren Hirsch And Ryan Mac reporting contributed.