Disney might not be done taking some lumps in the courtroom. Last week a federal judge threw out Disney’s lawsuit claiming that Ron DeSantis violated the First Amendment by taking over a special tax district that encompasses Walt Disney World.
“Disney and Mr. DeSantis,” wrote the New York Times, “have been at odds for nearly two years over Disney World, the 25,000-acre theme park and resort complex south of Orlando. Angered over Disney’s criticism of a Florida education law that opponents called anti-gay — and seizing on an opportunity to score political points with supporters — Mr. DeSantis took over the tax district, appointing a new board and ending the company’s long-held ability to self-govern Disney World as if it were a county.
Before the takeover took effect, however, Disney signed contracts — quietly, but in publicly advertised meetings — to lock in development plans worth some $17 billion over the next decade. An effort by Mr. DeSantis and his allies to void the contracts resulted in dueling lawsuits, with Disney suing Mr. DeSantis and the tax district in federal court and the new appointees returning fire in state court.”
This isn’t the only ongoing, high-profile case The Mouse is about to find itself in, however. Gina Carano, an actress and former MMA fighter, has teamed up with the world’s richest man to sue Disney over being “canceled,” ironically, given the lawsuit against DeSantis, for exercising her free speech rights.
Deadline describes Gina Carano’s biggest battle yet.
When it comes to fired The Mandalorian actress Gina Carano and Elon Musk, revenge against the Walt Disney Company is served piping hot, even if it takes a bit of time and tries to snare Pedro Pascal and Mark Hamill.
Three years after ex-MMA fighter Carano was axed by the then Bob Chapek-run Disney for comparing the political climate in America to Nazi Germany, Carano on Tuesday sued Disney and Star Wars shingle Lucasfilm for dropping her from the bounty-hunter series – and the X/Tesla owner is paying for her lawyers.
“A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in 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,” reads the complaint seeking a jury trial filed this morning in federal court says. “And so it was with Carano.”
“The rule of law still reigns over the Defendants’ empire … and Carano has returned to demand that they be held accountable for their bullying, discriminatory, and retaliatory actions — actions that inflicted not only substantial emotional harm, but millions of dollars in lost income,” adds the suit, which alleges wrongful discharge and sex discrimination.
Carano took to Twitter to explain her actions:
“A couple months ago @ElonMusk tweeted that if you had been fired from using the platform (X) for exercising your right to free speech, he would like to offer these people legal representation. Quite the noble offer, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought anyone would take on my case against Lucasfilm/Disney. Still, I did respond back “I think I qualify” & thousands of people agreed–but I did not expect anything.
To my surprise, a few months ago I received an email from a lawyer who had been hired by X to look into my story & many others. Turns out after sending them as much information as I could gather these past few months, my now lawyers & X believe whole-heartedly in my case & are moving forward.”
USA Today reported that Carano alleges she was fired after she “dared voice her own opinions” against an “online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.”
At the time of her firing, Lucasfilm said “her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
The actress seeks damages to be determined at trial and a court order that she be given her casting spot back on the show.
