What did Gina Carano say? Why actor has been fired from Disney+ show The Mandalorian after ‘abhorrent’ Instagram post - and her response

Carano said of Disney’s production company Lucasfilm “I’m not the only one that’s ever been bullied by this company”

Carano has been dropped by her representing agency and Disney, following her Instagram post

The Mandalorian actress and former MMA fighter Gina Carano has told how she was “head hunted” by Disney’s Lucasfilm because she “wasn’t going along with the [studio’s] narrative” after she was dropped from The Mandalorian cast for holding “abhorrent” views.

Carano played Cara Dune in the hit Disney+ Star Wars sequel, but will no longer feature due to an Instagram post she shared on 10 February.

So, what did she say and how has she responded to being axed? This is everything you need to know.

Who is Gina Carano?

Carano is an American actress who previously competed as an Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) professional, and has since starred in a string of action films and series.

Carano fought as a lightweight champion in MMA, winning seven of eight professional fights before retiring to become a screen actress.

Films and fictional television she has starred in include Fast and Furious 6, Deadpool and latterly, The Madalorian season two.

Alongside her film career, she has featured on US television series such as Fight Girls and American Gladiator.

What did Gina Carano say about Jewish people?

On 10 February, she likened the Nazis’ behaviour towards Jews - taking them from their homes, beating and killing them as part of a mass genocide - as the same as hating someone for their political views.

Her Instagram post read: “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors.... even by children.

“Because history is edited, most people today don´t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews.

“How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”

She then deleted the post, but not before it was screenshotted and shared across several social media platforms, with #FireGinaCarano trending on Twitter.

Many Twitter users also took umbrage at Carano’s regular use of offensive language, disregard for mask wearing and sharing of conspiracy theories in her Tweets.

What are her political views?

The 38-year-old is known for her controversial political and social views, having blocked Twitter accounts in August 2020 which supported Black Lives Matter.

In 2020, she also posted comments on Twitter which supported theories of US presidential election fraud and was unsupportive of mask-wearing.

Carano was also accused of transphobia after changing her Twitter name to include ‘Beep/Bop/Boop’.

She responded to the backlash with a Tweet which read: “They mad cuz I won’t put pronouns in bio to show my support for trans lives

“After months of harassing me in every way, I chose to put three VERY controversial words in my bio, BEEP/BOP/BOOP.

“I’m not against trans lives at all. They need to find less aggressive representation.”

The Disney+ actress was quick to delete the extension to her Twitter name, later stating Mandalorian co-star Pedro Pascal "helped [her] understand" the reasoning behind sharing preferred pronouns.

In January, she spoke to YouTuber Drunk 3PO about the backlash she has received for her questionable views.

She said: “People need to be OK with having conversations, with having difficult conversations, with having different opinions. What's wrong with having a different opinion?

“Why does everybody have to straight go to demoralising, because maybe they just didn't think the way you did?”

What has the response been to her views on the holocaust?

Following the backlash on Twitter, Lucasfilm, the producers of Mandalorian, addressed their contract with Carano in a statement.

The statement said: “ "Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future.”

It added: “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Shortly after the statement was released the agency who represents Carano, UTA, dropped her as a client.

The hashtag #FireGinaCarano has been used in thousands of Tweets that suggest Carano is antisemitic, transphobic, a Covid denier and a racist.

One read: “One day we get a beautiful story about Pedro Pascal and his goodness and support for inclusivity, and the next we’re reminded that Gina Carano has a lizard brain and should not be trusted around human beings. #FireGinaCarano”.

Another, which received over 8,000 likes and 2,000 retweets, read: “that moment when a transphobic, antisemitic, police bootlicker, covid denier and trump supporter plays a character who fought her whole life against oppression and tyranny. Lucasfilm should be ashamed. fire her. #FireGinaCarano.”

However, others took her side in the controversy, with American presenter and commentator Dave Rubin Tweeting: “Disney has cancelled @ginacarano, so I’m cancelling my

@disneyplus.

“We need to stop giving these people our money and we must build new franchises. Gina, if you’d like to come on the show to discuss anything let me know.”

#CancelDisneyPlus has also begun trending on Twitter, with many calling the company hypocrites and condemning ‘cancel culture’.

How has she responded?

On 21 February, an interview between Carano and US publication The Daily Wire aired, in which she said she was cancelled by Disney as she did not fit their political narrative.

Carano added: “I’m not the only one that’s ever been bullied by this company, and I know that so deeply. I could share a story which would turn things around in the media but I can’t because it would sell out a friend… everyone is afraid of losing their job.”

She also explained that she still “adores” her former co-star Pedro Pascal, despite their opposing political views.

Carano said: “I adore Pedro. There’s so much love there still. I know he’s said and done some hurtful things. But we had an agreement after we realised we were a little bit politically different.”

“I know that we both have misstepped on our tweets, we’re not perfect. We’re human beings. But he’s not a bad human being. He’s a sweet person.”

Pascal had previously published tweets liking Trump supporters to Nazis.

This interview aired just a week after Carano told Deadline she found out about her sacking from social media “like everyone else,” adding this wasn’t the first time she has locked heads with her production team at Lucasfilm.

She said the first instance arose when Lucasfilm asked her to apologise for her approach to pronoun usage, using an apology statement they had scripted.

Carano said: “Earlier on last year before The Mandalorian came out, they wanted me to use their exact wording for an apology over pronoun usage.

“I declined and offered a statement in my own words. I made clear I wanted nothing to do with mocking the transgender community. And [I] was just drawing attention to the abuse of the mob in forcing people to put pronouns in their bio.”

She was then dropped from appearing in promotions for season two of The Mandalorian, which she described as “heart-breaking,” and the last time she had any correspondence from Disney, regarding her conduct.