Elon Musk's X Corporation is funding a new lawsuit filed by Hollywood actor Gina Carano. She played the female lead in the Disney+ streaming series "The Mandalorian," but was fired after sharing a controversial social media post. Carano sued Disney and its subsidiary Lucasfilm in federal court in Los Angeles after she was terminated from the role in February 2021.
The lawsuit accuses Carano of wrongful termination and gender discrimination, seeks reinstatement of her role in The Mandalorian, and damages for past wages and future employment she lost as a result of her firing.
Carano was kicked off the series after she shared a post on social media suggesting that conservatives in America were being treated like Jews in Nazi Germany.
The actress has also previously caused controversy by criticizing Black Lives Matter protesters on social media.
Musk left a comment on Carano's post announcing his lawsuit on Tuesday, saying, "If you want to join the lawsuit against Disney, please let us know."
Last August, Musk said that X would fund users' legal bills "if you are treated unfairly by your employer for posting or liking content on this platform."
Carano later posted on X that she had responded to Musk's offer and "to my surprise," she was contacted by a lawyer from the company who ultimately agreed to fund her lawsuit.
"I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Elon Musk and X for giving me the opportunity to expose my case," Carano wrote on X.
On Tuesday, X responded to Carano's post about its lawsuit on Twitter, saying: "As a sign of X's commitment to free speech, we are proud to financially support Gina Carano's lawsuit so that she can seek to prove her right to free speech at X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination."
After Disney and other companies announced in November last year that they would suspend advertising on the X platform, Musk has repeatedly criticized Disney and its CEO Bob Iger in public or on social media.
Musk also responded to an X user's post commenting on Gina Carano's lawsuit on Tuesday, saying: "Disney has almost certainly violated the law thousands of times (literally)."
He continued: "I expect this will be one of many lawsuits filed against Disney. They have been blatantly racist, sexist, and censorship for years, which means a lot of emails/texts/slack/etc."
Musk also posted late Tuesday: "If you have been discriminated against by Disney or its subsidiaries (ABC, ESPN, Marvel, etc.), just reply to this post to get legal support."