'Star Wars' series fires Gina Carano after Holocaust post
February 11, 2021
The production company behind the science fiction series "The Mandalorian" has fired its lead actress, Gina Carano, citing her social media posts.
The Walt Disney co-owned movie studio, Lucasfilm, said on Thursday that Carano was no longer affiliated with the company and would not be in the future. The former mixed marital arts (MMA) fighter was playing the recurring character Cara Dune in "The Mandolorian", which is set in the "Star Wars" universe.
Earlier this week, Carano shared a post on Instagram comparing the treatment of people with different political affiliations in the United States to the beginning of the Holocaust.
In the post, she said the Nazi government was able to persecute Jews by making "their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews." "How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?" the post read.
Lucasfilm says posts 'abhorrent and unacceptable'
On Thursday, Lucasfilm slammed her social media posts as "abhorrent and unacceptable," accusing the actress of denigrating people based on their "cultural and religious identities."
Although Carano has deleted the controversial post after receiving backlash, the actress has long been criticized for her opinions on social media.
Previously, the 38-year-old prompted criticism as she mocked the use of gender pronouns by writing "beep/bop/boop" in her social media bio.
Carano has also mocked wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic and piled on the 2020 US presidential elections' voter fraud allegations.
Twitter strikes back
The hashtag #FireGinaCarano has trended on Twitter, with users mostly calling for the Star Wars show to cut the actress, criticizing her history of controversial opinions. Others attacked the company for cutting ties with the former athlete.
One user said, "I'm not about to support a franchise whose star compares being a Republican to being a victim of the Holocaust, sorry. #FireGinaCarano"
Another user shared the famous Star Wars credits, edited to explain why Carano's character, Cara Dune, was no longer on the series.
"I have leaked the credits to The Mandalorian season 3," the user said. The credits indicated that Dune's death was because she "refused to wear a mask on her last mission," referring to Carano's anti-mask views.
fb/dj (AP, Reuters)