Tag: sues

  • ‘Star Wars’ actor sues Disney with funding from Elon Musk’s X

    ‘Star Wars’ actor sues Disney with funding from Elon Musk’s X

     A “Star Wars” actor backed by Elon Musk’s X is suing Disney for firing her over inflammatory social media posts about the Holocaust, the pandemic and trans rights.

    Gina Carano, who had a major role in the wildly popular Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” until 2021, filed a lawsuit in California on Tuesday claiming wrongful termination.

    The suit says Carano was expressing personal political views but was hounded by an “extreme progressive” online mob, and alleges that Disney’s actions and comments had damaged her reputation and ability to find work in the future. 

    The lawsuit is being funded by X, a spokesman for the company confirmed to AFP.

    Carano, an outspoken former martial arts fighter-turned-actor, was fired by Disney for what the company at the time dubbed “abhorrent and unacceptable” social media posts “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.”

    One particularly controversial post shared by Carano appeared to liken being a conservative in the United States to being Jewish in Nazi Germany.

    Another post appeared to mock a person for wearing multiple masks during the Covid-19 pandemic in California.

    And Carano had earlier drawn the wrath of members of the trans community for adding “boop/bop/beep” as preferred pronouns on her Twitter profile.

    In a statement, Carano said she had “never even used aggressive language” but had shared “thought provoking” posts with “respect & the occasional comedy.”

    Both her statement and the lawsuit allege that Carano was afforded less right to exercise her freedom of speech than some of her male colleagues.

    Carano said she had been contacted by an X lawyer offering to take on her case after she publicly replied to an open offer from Musk to help anyone fired after using X to exercise free speech.

    “As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit,” said an official post by X on Tuesday.

    The lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages Carano is seeking, but claims she lost a role on planned “Mandalorian” spin-off “Rangers of the New Republic” that would have been worth “$150,000 to $250,000 per episode.”

  • ‘American Idol’ star Paula Abdul sues producer for sexual assault

    ‘American Idol’ star Paula Abdul sues producer for sexual assault

    U.S. singer, dancer and ‘American Idol‘ star Paula Abdul filed a lawsuit accusing British television executive Nigel Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her when they worked together on two popular talent shows, according to court documents.

    Paula Abdul, who rose to fame as a chart-topping singer in the late 1980s, alleged in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday that Lythgoe sexually assaulted her in an elevator during the early seasons of TV singing competition series ‘American Idol.’

    Nigel Lythgoe, the producer of several hit television talent competitions, allegedly groped her, and got physical without consent in a hotel elevator after a day of auditions for ‘American Idol.’ Paula Abdul tried to push him away and ran as soon as the elevator doors opened, court documents said.

    Reuters was not immediately able to reach Paula Abdul or Nigel Lythgoe for comment.

    Nigel Lythogoe denied the allegations, according to TMZ.

    “For more than two decades, Paula [Abdul] and I have interacted as dear — and entirely platonic — friends and colleagues,” he told TMZ. “Yesterday, however, out of the blue, I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for.”

    According to court documents, Paula Abdul immediately reported the assault by Nigel Lythgoe, an ‘American Idol’ producer at the time, to her representatives but did not take action for fear of losing her job, the lawsuit said.

    Moreover, Paula Abdul’s contracts prohibited her from speaking out, the lawsuit said.

    Another alleged assault took place years later when Paula Abdul worked as a judge on ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ according to court documents. The star, 61, enjoyed renewed popularity in the early 2000s starring as a judge on talent TV series.

    The lawsuit alleges Nigel Lythgoe, 74, assaulted her on the couch of his Los Angeles home after a work dinner. Paula Abdul again firmly rejected him and “immediately left [Nigel] Lythgoe’s home,” court documents said.

    In the lawsuit, Paula Abdul levels other allegations at the entertainment industry mogul, including that Nigel Lythgoe once called to taunt her and said it had been “seven years and the statute of limitations had run” on the alleged assaults.

    The lawsuit alleged that the star also witnessed Nigel Lythgoe assault one of her assistants on ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’

    The lawsuit was submitted days before the Dec. 31 filing deadline established under the California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act. The legislation allows individuals to bring certain sexual abuse lawsuits that would otherwise have fallen outside the statute of limitations.