‘The Mandalorian’ Star Gina Carano Fired Amid Social Media Controversy
Gina Carano #GinaCarano
Gina Carano will not be returning to The Mandalorian or the Star Wars galaxy after sharing a post on social media inferring that being a Republican today is like being Jewish during the Holocaust.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” a Lucasfilm spokesperson said in a statement. “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
On Wednesday, the hashtag #FireGinaCarano was trending following an Instagram post from the outspoken conservative actor and former mixed martial artist which was met with severe backlash. The post has since been deleted, but screenshots were widely shared by users on social media who called for her firing from the hit Disney+ Star Wars show.
This is not the first time Carano, who played former Rebel Alliance soldier Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, has been the focus of social media ire for her political comments. Last November, she issued contentious tweets, one in which she mocked mask-wearing amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and another in which she falsely suggested voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election.
“They have been looking for a reason to fire her for two months, and today was the final straw,” a source with knowledge of Lucasfilm’s thinking tells THR.
The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ in November 2019 and helped power the streaming service to impressive subscription numbers. Carano’s Cara Dune became an instant fan favorite, with the actor praised for bringing a calm strength to the role. But her tweets have also made her a controversial figure among Star Wars fandom.
According to sources, Lucasfilm planned to unveil Carano as the star of her own Disney+ series during a December investor’s day presentation but scrapped those plans following her November tweets. Multiple Mandalorian spinoffs are in the works from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, including Rangers of the New Republic, which could have potentially starred Carano.
But after the latest round of social media posts, the decision to cut ties with the actor came swiftly.
Carano came up in the world of MMA, and has appeared in high-profile projects, such as Deadpool and Fast & Furious 6. Steven Soderbergh cast her in 2011’s Haywire, a film that launched her acting career following a straight-to-DVD project.
Her rep could not be immediately reached for comment.