LOS ANGELES (CN) — Walt Disney Co. failed to win a quick dismissal of the wrongful termination lawsuit by actress Gina Carano, who was dropped from “The Mandalorian” television series after sharing a post on X that compared the treatment of conservatives in the U.S. to that of Jews in Nazi Germany.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Garnett wasn’t persuaded by Disney’s argument that Carano’s lawsuit — backed by X owner Elon Musk — is somehow barred by the media company’s freedom of expressive association under the First Amendment.
“Defendants have not identified any evidence — in the complaint or otherwise — to substantiate a claim that they employ public-facing actors for the purpose of promoting the ‘values of respect,’ ‘decency,’ ‘integrity,’ or ‘inclusion,'” the judge said. “Accordingly, defendants’ invocation of the supposedly detrimental effects of plaintiff’s ‘mere presence’ as one of defendants’ employees lacks constitutional import.”
In this regard, the judge said, Disney’s position was different from that of the Boy Scouts of America, a private, nonprofit organization, who in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision 24 years ago prevailed on their claim that admitting an openly gay scout leader would send a message contrary to its values and violate its expressive association rights.
In addition, as judge had already observed during last month’s hearing on Disney’s motion, Carano had made an at least plausible claim that she was terminated from the “Star Wars” spinoff in early 2021 to deflect attention away from then-Disney CEO’s Bob Chapek “failed leadership.”
Garnett also said it wasn’t clear at this stage of the litigation whether Disney could establish that enforcement of California’s anti-discrimination law would impose a burden on its First Amendment rights that went beyond what was necessary to accomplish the state’s legitimate purposes.
“To prevail on their defense that their expressive association rights bar plaintiff’s claims, defendants must show that any impact on their claimed associational freedoms cannot justify California’s interests in eradicating sex-based discrimination and employer pressure on employee political activity,” according to Garnett.
Representatives of Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
The 42-year-old actress and former mixed martial arts competitor sued in February, claiming she was “terminated from her role as swiftly as her character’s peaceful home planet of Alderaan had been destroyed by the Death Star in an earlier Star Wars film” because she stood up to the “online bully mob who demanded her compliance with their extreme progressive ideology.”
“Contrary to defendants’ statement, at no point was Carano ‘denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities,’ as Lucasfilm claimed,” she said in the complaint. “Rather, she was doing just the opposite, opposing such denigration and targeting of people just because they hold different beliefs.”
According to Carano, she was singled out because her political statements that didn’t align with what Disney deems acceptable viewpoints, while Pedro Pascal, her male co-star on the series, suffered no adverse consequences for comparing the facilities housing detained immigrants at the Mexican border to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany.
Musk, who has opposed policing free speech on X, formerly Twitter, since he bought the platform in 2022, said last year that he will fund the legal bill of users who have been unfairly treated by their employers over their posts.
And last February, he reiterated his promise, singling out Disney and its subsidiaries for what he called “institutionalized racism and sexism” over the company’s inclusion standards for underrepresented groups.
Disney was among a number of large companies that suspended advertising on X after reports that the platform placed ads for major brands such as Apple and IBM next to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. Musk has frequently called out the companies that pulled their ads and thereby devalued X, including by telling them “Go f— yourself.”