Disney and Lucasfilm have opted to fire actress Gina Carano, who plays Alderaanian ex-rebel shock trooper Carasynthia “Cara” Dune in The Mandalorian, over a controversial post that she recently shared over social media. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage, the post implied that “being a Republican today is like being Jewish during the Holocaust,” which prompted many users to call for her termination. They got what they wanted.
“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.”
“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,” The Hollywood Reporter noted. “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 added.
It isn’t clear whether Lucasfilm will recast Cara Dune or write her out of The Mandalorian completely, but this is definitely a bad day for Carano, who was reportedly getting her own Disney+ series and set to appear in at least one Star Wars spin-off, Rangers of the New Republic. The actress has also been dropped by the United Talent Agency, a Beverly Hills-based talent agency that represents artists and other professionals in the entertainment industry.