Posted on: February 6, 2024, 09:29h.
Last updated on: February 6, 2024, 09:29h.
Elon Musk’s X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, is financially backing actor Gina Carano’s wrongful termination lawsuit against Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS). Carano’s family is the largest non-institutional investor in Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR).
Carano was fired from her role on the Disney+ streaming series “The Mandalorian” in 2021 after a post she made on Instagram and TikTok likened being conservative on social media to being Jewish in Nazi Germany. That wasn’t her first bout with social media controversy as she also previously criticized on Twitter coronavirus lockdowns while noting her pronouns were “beep/bop/boop.”
In a Tuesday filing with the US District Court for the Central District of California, counsel for Carano listed Disney, Lucasfilm, and Huckleberry Industries as defendants.
A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated,” according to the complaint.” And so it was with Carano. After two highly acclaimed seasons on The Mandalorian as Rebel ranger Cara Dune, Carano 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.”
Counsel for Carano claim she was fired by Disney when the company was run by former CEO Bob Chapek for no other reason than that she was outspoken on social media.
Carano Suit Has Gaming Angles Galore
Carano is the granddaughter of Don Carano, the late executive considered to be the patriarch of the Elodrado Resorts empire, which is now Caesars Entertainment. Through a series of acquisitions and smart executive hires, including current CEO Tom Reeg, the Carano family took Eldorado from a sleepy regional casino operator to the largest gaming in the US by number of properties — a transformation that culminated in Eldorado’s $17.3 billion takeover of “old Caesars” in 2020.
Today, Glenn Carano, Gina’s father, is the senior vice president of operations for the east region for Eldorado — role he’s held for nearly seven years. The UNLV alumni also played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys for six years, backing up Hall of Famer Roger Staubauch for part of his tenure with the team.
Gary Carano, Gina’s uncle, is Caesars executive chairman. He was the architect of several acquisitions in the 2010s that bolstered the size and geographic reach of Eldorado. The family’s stake in Caesars is worth approximately $1 billion.
As for Disney, its ties to the gaming industry include, most notably, recently launched ESPN Bet. Disney licenses the name of its popular sports network to Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) for use on the mobile app.
Musk Not First Billionaire to Back External Litigation
In financing Carano’s Disney suit, Musk is living up to a pledge he made last August to cover legal expenses for X users that received unfair treatment from employers “due to posting or liking something on this platform.”
His support of Carano’s litigation isn’t the first instance of a billionaire funding civil litigation on behalf of another person. LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman paid the legal bills of E. Jean Carroll in her civil case against former President Donald Trump in which she was recently awarded damages of $83.3 million.
For her part, Carano said responded to Musk’s offer and was surprised when a lawyer from X reached out to her.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude & thank you to @ElonMusk& @X for giving me an opportunity to bring my case to light.,” she wrote in a post on the platform earlier today.
