Elon Musk pushed the Walt Disney Company again Tuesday by agreeing to fund a wrongful termination lawsuit filed 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 about X, which he purchased in 2022.
Disney removed Ms. Carano, a former mixed martial artist, from “The Mandalorian” in 2021 after she espoused baseless conspiracy theories and right-wing positions, some of which were considered homophobic and anti-Semitic, in a series of posts on social networks. His character was removed from the series. Lucasfilm, the Disney division that produces “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.”
United Talent Agency also let Mrs. Carano down.
Ms. Carano’s suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in California, seeks a court order requiring Disney and Lucasfilm to reinstate her “Mandalorian” character in episodes and recast her for the role. (Employed as a “guest actress,” she received $25,000 for each episode she appeared in.) She is also suing for punitive damages.
Mr. Musk has been nudging Disney and its chief executive, Robert A. Iger, since Disney and other major X advertisers, including Apple, suspended spending on the platform in mid-November. Advertisers acted after Mr Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. He seemed particularly angry at Disney’s decision to remove the ads; other Hollywood companies, in particular, have followed Disney’s lead.
In internal X documents, seen by the New York Times, salespeople were informed that Disney had continued to suspend advertising on the platform “globally” and “indefinitely”.
Disney spokespeople did not respond Tuesday to requests for comment for this article.
In late November, Mr. Musk verbally attacked Mr. Iger from the stage of the New York Times DealBook Summit. (Citing Disney’s removal of the 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, M .Musk wrote on X that Mr. Iger “should be fired“, adding that “Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave because of what Bob did to his company.
More recently, Mr. Musk has encouraged Nelson Peltz, an activist investor who, alongside the disgruntled former Marvel Entertainment chairman, is waging a proxy battle for two seats on Disney’s board.
“Brutal assessment,” Mr. Musk wrote on “Shareholders have been incredibly poorly served by the @Disney board! »
Disney has vigorously defended its board of directors, as well as Mr. Iger’s background. Mr. Iger, who came out of retirement in 2022 to take over the reins of Disney, dramatically cut costs, accelerated the growth of Disney parks and reorganized the company to improve movie quality, among other efforts.
Asked about the extent of the relationship between Mr. Peltz and Mr. Musk, a Trian spokesperson had no immediate comment. Mr. Peltz and Mr. Musk were photographed together Saturday at the Los Angeles premiere of “Lola,” an independent film written, directed and in which one of Mr. Peltz’s daughters starred.
X’s commercial operations manager Joe Benarroch said in a statement that Mr. Musk’s company was “proud to provide financial support to the Gina Carano trial, allowing him to request the justification of his rights to freedom from expression about X and his ability to work without intimidation. harassment or discrimination. »
Last year, Mr. Musk pledged to fund legal action against 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 corporate boards.”
Ms. Carano’s lawsuit stated: “A short time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, the 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 it or failed to bring it into full compliance would not be tolerated. And it was the same with Carano.
Lauren Hirsch And Ryan Mac reports contributed.
