Can Gina Carano Win Her Mandalorian Lawsuit Against Disney? Our Entertainment Law Expert Weighs In
Gina Carano, the former MMA fighter and "Deadpool" star, is currently suing Disney for discrimination and wrongful termination. Carano was one of the main stars of the "Star Wars" TV show "The Mandalorian," playing Cara Dune in the first two seasons, but she was fired three years ago for "social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities" that were deemed "abhorrent and unacceptable." Carano did have quite a bit of outspoken, far right-wing commentary on her social feeds, many of which were called anti-semitic or transphobic. Now, she's trying to fire back at Disney in a lawsuit — with the help of Elon Musk. But does Carano actually stand a chance of winning this suit?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Musk is making good on a promise to pay legal bills for users who claim they have been discriminated against due to their activity on his platform, so Carano is taking one of the biggest companies in the world to court. "My words were consistently twisted to demonize & dehumanize me as an alt right wing extremist," Carano claimed about her firing. The complaint alleges that Disney and Lucasfilm harassed and defamed the actress behind Cara Dune for not conforming to their views on issues such as Black Lives Matter, pandemic lockdowns, pronouns, and her claims about interference in the 2020 election which have been proven false. Carano also believes that Disney treated her unfairly compared to her male co-stars such as Pedro Pascal, who has also been outspoken politically on social media.
So, does Carano have ground to stand on here? Is it possible that Disney will have to pony up a hefty sum of dough at the end of this legal battle? Could this lead to Carano's return as Cara Dune in the "Star Wars" galaxy? We got some legal experts to weigh in on the matter and provide some much-needed insight.
Does Gina Carano's lawsuit have any real legal basis?
"Political ideology has become a subject of retaliation and hate, and it's now moving into the workplace," said Los Angeles entertainment attorney Tre Lovell, founder of The Lovell Firm. "In California, employers can generally fire anyone who is an 'at will' employee, as was Carano, for any reason, as long as it's not illegal such as discriminating against certain classes of people based on race, religion or gender." So what might carry weight here? Her gender claims, her political claims, or both? Lovell explained:
"California has a separate statute that prevents firing someone based on their politics. So, this is now being tested in the entertainment industry. Carano is also suing for gender discrimination by alleging her male colleagues posted political posts and were not fired or affected."
It's also worth noting here that Disney and Lucasfilm never recast the role of Cara Dune following Carano's firing. Los Angeles entertainment attorney Camron Dowlatshahi, a partner at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, also added some context, explaining that Disney very well may have had a clause in Carano's contract that would protect them from a suit such as this.
"It's not uncommon for a production to terminate an individual for their misconduct or inflammatory remarks. Typically, there are morality clauses that are broadly worded in favor of the production's discretion that allow for the termination. It is unclear if a similar provision was in Carano's contract."
Gina Carano's politics vs. Disney
The "political beliefs" angle is key here. Carano made comparisons on social media likening being a Republican today to being a Jewish person during the Holocaust. It's not entirely difficult to see why Disney would want to distance itself from someone who is outspoken in that way. As far as the suit goes, Lovell explained that political discrimination is often not legally protected.
"Unlike most kinds of discrimination based on race, gender, and religion, for example, political discrimination is not protected in most situations, which means you don't have to sell goods or perform services for someone if you don't like who they voted for. California has carved out a separate statute to address political discrimination in the workplace."
Whether or not that statute helps Carano's case remains to be seen. Disney and Lucasfilm did go to great lengths to distance themselves from Carano and the character of Cara Dune. They even canceled a planned "Mandalorian" spin-off titled "Rangers of the New Republic" that was to star Carano. Altering plans in an interconnected universe such as "Star Wars" is no easy thing, which speaks to the gravity of the situation as far as Disney was concerned. To what degree should one's political beliefs be protected by the word of the law? That's at issue here.
Would Gina Carano return to The Mandalorian?
One of the key things mentioned in the lawsuit is that Carano is seeking to potentially be reinstated as Cara Dune on "The Mandalorian." That would be an unexpected development, to say the least. Especially considering how hard Disney and Lucasfilm tried to move on from the character and leave her in the past. Despite the suit, our legal experts were skeptical that this could actually happen.
"It's very unlikely that a judge would order Carano to be re-cast if she gets a favorable ruling. Rather, her remedy will be limited to monetary damages," Lovell said. "It's extremely unlikely a judge would force her to be reinstated, especially given the creative nature and latitude that Lucasfilm has."
Dowlatshahi agreed, adding, "A ruling in Carano's favor would not mean she gets recast for the role. It would likely just award monetary damages." As far as those monetary damages go, the figure cited in initial reports was just $75,000, which seemed rather low considering all of the hubbub and the high-profile nature of "Star Wars." As Lovell explained, Carano will be asking for much more than $75,000 in actuality.
"The $75,000 in damages she is asking for is merely procedural. In federal court, you must have an amount that exceeds $75,000 but that's just the minimum. Carano will be seeking much more than that."
"The $75,000 is only the statutory minimum necessary to file in federal court under principles of diversity jurisdiction," Dowlatshahi echoed. "She is seeking much more in actual damages." The big question now that lingers is what that number will end up being, assuming the case gets far enough along for that to come into play.
Gina Carano can't stop Disney's plans for Star Wars
Legal battles are never a quick thing, particularly when so many big players are involved. That's important here as the "Star Wars" franchise isn't going to stop just because a former star of one of the shows is suing Disney. Jon Favreau is getting ready to direct "The Mandalorian & Grogu," while Dave Filoni is also prepping his own movie set in the Mando-verse after finishing up "Ahsoka" season 2. That train is barreling down the tracks with or without the lawsuit.
Carano could be up against the clock here. Filoni's movie is set to tie together all of the "Mandalorian" shows and may well be an adaptation of "Heir to the Empire." That is probably going to bring the bulk of this story to a conclusion. At this point, Disney and Lucasfilm would have no need for Cara Dune, and no need for Carano.
"Lucasfilm and Disney are going to immediately move to have the case dismissed," Lovell said. If that happens, all of this becomes a moot point. But what if a judge doesn't side with Disney? Lovell says Lucasfilm can still continue unabated.
"If the case is not dismissed, it could drag on for a year or more. Nothing will prevent Lucasfilm from pursuing whatever creative plan it wishes. The only way the company could be stopped is if Carano was granted an injunction against them, but that just won't happen."
"All of this largely becomes moot if Lucasfilm completes 'The Mandalorian' while the lawsuit is still playing out," Dowlatshahi concluded. "It's likely to take several years at a minimum for this case to go to trial. That is why she would only be likely to be awarded monetary damages, if anything at all."