For the first time since being sacked from Disney’s hit show The Mandalorian following a string of controversial social media posts, Gina Carano has spoken out about her ordeal, why she won’t stop exercising her first amendment rights and her intentions behind publishing the content that ultimately led to her dismissal.
In a lengthy interview with media host and political commentator Ben Shapiro, Carano shared her side of the story, including how she didn’t consider the offending Instagram post – one appearing to liken the treatment of conservatives by liberals as similar to that of the hatred of Jews fostered by Nazi Germany – believed to have prompted Lucasfilm to cut all ties with her to be innately controversial. Of the events, she said the following:
When I posted that, it wasn’t something I felt was controversial. It was something I thought, ‘Well, maybe all of us need to ask ourselves, how did that happen?’ because it’s important. The post never said anything about Republicans or conservatives. It doesn’t say anything about that in there. It was more about, you know, people tearing each other apart.
Elaborating further, Carano stresses that all she wanted to do was spark debate over sensitive topics, adding: “If you really go through what I’m posting, I post something because I want people to think.” Regardless of her intentions, the actress’ comments were latched onto by what Shapiro and her supporters label as cancel culture, with many believing that her views were deliberately misconstrued with the aim of having her ousted.
Whatever the case; what’s done is done now. Lucasfilm has already explicitly stated that it has no plans to ever work with Gina Carano again and has taken steps to remove her character of Cara Dune from promotional material (see the gallery above). Disney, too, has reportedly adopted a zero tolerance policy in an effort to prevent the past from repeating itself.
The Mandalorian season 3, meanwhile, is due to begin airing in 2022. How the series will handle the actress’ exit remains to be seen, but at this stage, it’s widely assumed that she’ll simply be written out. As always, though, watch this space for more.
