Disney on trial: Judge denies motion to dismiss former ‘Mandalorian’ actress’ free speech lawsuit

The House of Mouse is headed for the courtroom.

On Wednesday, July 24, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett denied Disney’s motion to dismiss actress Gina Carano’s free-speech lawsuit against the American media giant.

With Garnett’s denial of Disney’s motion to dismiss on Wednesday, unless a settlement is reached, the two parties are headed for trial.

Gina Carano sues Disney

Carano originally filed suit against Disney back in February. Best known for her role as Cara Dune in “The Mandalorian,” Carano’s lawsuit stems from her firing from “The Mandalorian” in 2021 after she made several controversial social media posts criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement, questioning the results of the 2020 election and comparing being a Republican in the 21st century to being Jewish during the Holocaust.

At the time of her firing, Lucasfilm issued a statement criticizing her posts, as previously reported by the Deseret News : “Her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

In her lawsuit, Carano is seeking reparation for monetary damages and a court order that would require Lucasfilm and Disney to recast her as Dune in “The Mandalorian.” In a post on X , Carano wrote “I am moved to tears. After a brutal 3½ years, I am being given the opportunity to move forward in the court of law before the judge and my peers to clear my name.”

Disney claims expressive association

In its motion, Disney stated that it “makes this motion on the grounds that Disney has a constitutional right not to associate its artistic expression with Carano’s speech, such that the First Amendment provides a complete defense to Carano’s claims,” per Fox News.

But in her ruling, Garnett stated that Disney failed to set forth an ‘impenetrable defense’ under the First Amendment.”

She wrote that Disney “failed to establish that employment of Carano, known for her role in ‘The Mandalorian,’ constituted expressive association, which is protected by the First Amendment,” per the ruling.

Expressive association is a legal concept in the United States that refers to the right of individuals to form associations and gather in groups to express their ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints. Disney claiming expressive association means that in hiring Carano, they expected her to promote their goals and values.

But Garnett wrote that Disney didn’t have any evidence of that.

“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.’ Accordingly, Defendants’ invocation of the supposedly detrimental effects of Plaintiff’s ‘mere presence’ as one of Defendants’ employees lacks constitutional import.”

Continuing on in her ruling, Garnett wrote that even if Disney could show that they intended to hire actors for purposes of expressive association, Carano had reasonably argued she was fired “to divert attention from criticisms of Defendants’ business dealings and of Disney’s CEO, not to fortify Defendants’ supposed expressive association.”

When will Gina Carano’s lawsuit trial take place?

As of now, there is no expected or set date for that trial yet. And there is still a chance the two parties could settle out of court.

More on Gina Carano’s conflict with Disney

• Gina Carano alleges free speech violations in new lawsuit against Lucasfilm and Disney (Deseret News)
• Fired ‘Mandalorian’ actor sues Disney with funding from Elon Musk (KSL)
• Gina Carano says she is ‘not going down without a fight’ after ‘Star Wars’ exit (Deseret News)
• Star Wars fans still support Gina Carano, new poll shows (Deseret News)
• Reports: Gina Carano has been fired from ‘The Mandalorian’ (Deseret News)