Gina Carano, who appeared in The Mandalorian, was fired by Disney in 2021, leading to a highly-publicized lawsuit that was backed by Elon Musk. Now that the legal battle has reached a settlement, here’s everything you need to know about the case.
For the uninitiated, Carano first made a name for herself as a mixed martial artist, having competed for Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce between 2006 and 2009. She later transitioned to acting, landing her first major gig in the 2011 movie Haywire.
She went on to star in Fast & Furious 6 and Deadpool before securing the role of Cara Dune in The Mandalorian. Carano starred alongside Pedro Pascal in the Disney+ Star Wars series for the first two seasons, which dropped in 2019 and 2020.
This all changed the following year when she shared a controversial post on Instagram, with Lucasfilm swiftly announcing that Carano had been dropped. Warning: The following contains content that some readers may find distressing.
Why was Gina Carano fired?
Ultimately, Carano was fired after she compared the American political climate to the persecution of Jews by their fellow citizens during the Holocaust. “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors… even by children,” she wrote.
“Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews.
“How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?” Alongside the post, she shared a notorious image of a woman being attacked during the Lviv pogroms.
The Lviv pogroms were a series of violent attacks against the Jewish population in the city of Lviv (then part of German-occupied Poland, now in Ukraine) during June and July 1941. They occurred shortly after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
Over the course of several days, thousands of Jews were beaten, humiliated, and murdered by a combination of Nazi forces and local collaborators. Many victims were paraded through the streets, tortured, and subjected to public abuse before being executed.
In February 2021, not long after the post, Lucasfilm dropped Carano from The Mandalorian cast, with a spokesperson for the Disney-owned studio stating, “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future.
“Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
The post itself was deleted, as was another in which she shared a photo of a person with masks covering their face amid the pandemic and wrote, “Meanwhile in California.”
Other controversies
This wasn’t the first time Carano had sparked controversy with her social media activities. In 2020, she responded to calls for her to include her pronouns online by listing ‘beep/bop/boop’ in her Twitter bio.
She followed this up with the tweet: “They’re mad ‘cause I won’t put pronouns in my bio to show my support for trans lives. After months of harassing me in every way.
“I decided to put three VERY controversial words in my bio… beep/bop/boop. I’m not against trans lives at all. They need to find less abusive representation.”
Shortly before, she had said, “Pedro [Pascal] and I spoke and he helped me understand why people were putting them in their bios. I didn’t know before but I do now. I won’t be putting them in my bio but good for all you who choose to.”
In other posts, she mocked government mandates to wear masks during the pandemic and falsely claimed that voter fraud had occurred during the 2020 presidential election. Alongside her firing by Disney, Carano was dropped by the United Talent Agency.
Disney lawsuit backed by Elon Musk
In February 2024, Carano filed a lawsuit against Lucasfilm over her firing, alleging wrongful dismissal and sex discrimination. She claimed that she was unfairly discriminated against compared to her male co-star, citing Pascal’s 2017 post comparing Donald Trump to Hitler.
Carano alleged that she was fired for sharing right-wing sentiments online, and sought a court order that would force the studio to recast her. Disney filed a motion to have the case dismissed, but this was denied.
As part of a previous promise made by Elon Musk regarding the defense of people “unfairly treated” for the content they post on X/Twitter, the company assisted Carano by aiding her with legal costs.
X’s head of business operations Joe Benarroch said in a statement, “As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination.”
A trial was set to go ahead in September 2025 – but it’s since been resolved.
Lawsuit reaches settlement
On August 8, 2025, both parties filed to dismiss the case, reaching a settlement. The conditions of the settlement – including whether Carano will be rehired or receive monetary damages – aren’t available at the time of writing.
The filing states that both sides, “through their undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate that this action and all claims, including all defenses asserted therein, be dismissed with prejudice.”
Taking to X/Twitter, Carano wrote, “I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm, which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved. I hope this brings some healing to the force.
“I want to extend my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit. Thank you Mr. Musk and for backing my case and asking for nothing in return.”
“I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome. I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career, you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud,” she continued.
“I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me. Yes, I’m smiling.”
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