Although initially viewed with
cautious optimism, “Star Wars” fans were quickly won over when the spinoff
series “The Mandalorian” premiered on Disney+ in 2019. Their reception was not
only because of the main character (Pedro Pascal), but because of the company
he kept in two seasons of the show. One of his standout comrades is Cara Dune,
a Rebel commando-turned-mercenary portrayed by actress-model-MMA fighter Gina
Carano. On screen her character was considered a positive feminist role model.
In real life however, her actress’ social media opinions have made her an
embarrassment to Lucasfilm, which ultimately axed her from the series.
Variety tells us that as of the evening of Wednesday, February 10,
Lucasfilm has fired Gina Carano from her supporting role in “The Mandalorian.” Her
character of Cara Dune will therefore not return for a third season. A
statement released by a studio spokesperson at the time confirmed that she is
no longer employed by Lucasfilm for the series. The reason for this is, as the
statement explains, “Her social media posts denigrating people based on their
cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.” This came in
the wake of Carano’s post on Instagram Stories this Tuesday, February 9.
In said IS post, the actress made
unflattering comparisons between the current political climate in the US
post-2020 elections, to the time period in Nazi Germany before and during World
War II, and how the Nazis encouraged Germans to become increasingly hostile to
Jews. The following day Twitter saw the hash tag #FireGinaCarano start trending;
and before Wednesday came to an end Lucasfilm did so.
This was not the first time
social media comments by Gina Carano caught online flak. Last year she disparaged
people who wore masks during the worst of the COVID pandemic, made fun of
people who used “preferred pronouns,” and even alleged voter fraud in the recent
US presidential elections. There is speculation that the popularity of her Cara
Dune character in “The Mandalorian” has led to a proposal of another spinoff
that stars her, only for her controversies to spur Lucasfilm into dismissing
the idea.
Carano first came to celebrity
prominence in mixed martial arts, before going into modeling and acting in film
and television. Her cinematic credits include “Fast & Furious 6” (2013) and
“Deadpool” (2016), while in the small screen she was the Gladiator Crush in the
2008 reboot of physical competition show “American Gladiators.” She was
represented by United Talent Agency (UTA), which also dropped her like
Lucasfilm did following the controversy.
Image courtesy of IndieWire
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