Bob Iger did not seem particularly pleased to be asked about Gina Carano’s lawsuit.
The Mandalorian actress’ suit is trying to force the company to re-hire her for Star Wars content. It’s backed by Elon Musk, who is helping fund the suit through X. CNBC asked Iger what were his thoughts on Musk backing the suit — and potentially others like it against his company.
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“None,” Iger said flatly.
Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination. She alleges she was fired for voicing right-wing opinions on social media. Elon Musk is helping fund the suit through X. Iger made the comments ahead of The Walt Disney Co.’s fourth quarter earnings call with investors on Wednesday.
Musk has since tweeted thoughts such as “Disney sucks” (reacting to a post claiming Disney is considering The Bear Emmy-winner Ayo Edebiri as a replacement for Johnny Depp in Pirates 6) and posted an alleged Disney inclusion standards document and wrote, “An anonymous source just sent me this from Disney. It is mandatory, institutionalized racism and sexism!”
Last year, Musk pledged to fund legal action for users on X who claim they have faced discrimination by their employers over their activity on the platform. The offer came with “no limit” on costs, with Musk saying he would “go after the boards of directors of the companies too.”
In November, Musk told off advertisers like Disney who boycott his platform due to his controversial or offensive posts, saying, “If someone is going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself, is that clear? Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise.”
Carano was fired in 2021 following a slew of right-wing social media posts, including one that read, “most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Naxi 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?”
According to the complaint, Disney and Lucasfilm harassed and defamed Carano for refusing to conform with their viewpoints on issues relating to Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns and disproven claims of election interference. While she was allegedly fired for her cultural and religious beliefs, Carano argues that the entertainment giant turned a blind eye to her male co-stars, who allegedly made offensive and denigrating posts directed toward Republicans. She points to Pedro Pascal’s 2017 post comparing former President Donald Trump to Hitler.
At one point, Carano was told to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+, according to the suit. She declined and was terminated shortly after from The Mandalorian, as well as other titles in the Star Wars universe, including Rangers of the New Republic.
Winston Cho contributed to this report.
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