On Wednesday, Disney reportedly cut ties with conservative actress Gina Carano — known most recently for playing Cara Dune in the Disney+ show, The Mandalorian — because of a series of “offensive” posts on social media.
The post that apparently generated the most controversy was a screenshot shared on Carano’s Instagram account which compared the political divisions in the United States to Nazi Germany. The screenshot 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?”
“As Carano has been an outspoken supporter of former president Donald Trump and has often complained about backlash against her conservative opinions, many critics took the post as her equating Republicans with Jews in Nazi Germany,” The Washington Post reported. “The post has since been deleted, but not before fans captured the moment and shared it widely. Critics called for the actress to be fired for her online rhetoric under the hashtag #FireGinaCarano, which trended on Twitter on Wednesday.”
Lucasfilm, a production company owned by the Disney corporation, said that “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” and that her “social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Today, the Daily Wire announced that it would be partnering with Gina Carano to produce an upcoming film exclusively for Daily Wire members. “The Daily Wire is helping make one of my dreams — to develop and produce my own film — come true. I cried out and my prayer was answered,” Carano said in a statement.
The Daily Wire is offering a 25% discount for new members with the Carano-themed promo code “GINA.”
Despite this exciting adventure, it’s also important not to lose sight of the fact that Disney’s sudden and decisive “action” against “abhorrent and unacceptable” behavior is far from consistent. Below are multiple examples that expose Disney’s double standard.
Chinese Communist Party
In the ending credits of Disney’s live-action remake of “Mulan,” it is revealed that several scenes were filmed in China’s Xinjiang Province, where it is reported that more than one million Uighur Muslims are being detained in concentration camps by the Chinese Communist government.
“Following Mulan‘s release on Disney+ on Friday, some viewers began noticing a ‘special thanks’ in the film’s end credits to eight government entities in Xinjiang, including the public security bureau in the city of Turpan, where China is believed to operate over a dozen ‘re-education camps’ that hold Uighurs in extra-judicial detention,” the Hollywood Reporter wrote. “Mulan‘s credit sequence also extends a thank you to the ‘publicity department of CPC Xinjiang Uighur Autonomy Region Committee,’ the Chinese Communist Party agency responsible for producing and managing state propaganda efforts in the region.”
Erhan Elaldi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Human rights groups have criticized the Chinese Communist government for stripping away “the religious and other freedoms of the Uighurs, culminating in an oppressive system of mass surveillance, detention, indoctrination, and even forced sterilization.”
It was recently reported by the BBC that “women in China’s ‘re-education’ camps for Uighurs have been systematically raped, sexually abused, and tortured.”
In addition to the Chinese government’s reported persecution of Uighur Muslims, Disney currently operates Shanghai Disneyland Park as part of the Shanghai Disney Resort, in Eastern China. The park opened in 2016.
James Gunn
The director of Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” was fired in 2018 after “his social media posts from years prior went viral.” The tweets, which Gunn defended as jokes, included subjects like rape and pedophilia.
Disney rehired Gunn in May 2019 to direct the “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Deadline reported at the time that Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn met with Gunn, and was “Persuaded by Gunn’s public apology and his handling of the situation after,” with Horn then deciding to “reverse course and reinstate Gunn.”
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Despite his own brush with cancel culture, Gunn “appears to approve of the online bashing” targeting Carano on social media. Fox News reported:
Amid the online battle, a tweet that defended Gunn and knocked Carano caught the attention of the filmmaker.
“Oh f*ck don’t drag @JamesGunn into this unfortunate trending topic,” entrepreneur Olga Kay wrote before celebrating Carano’s firing.
Gunn “liked” that tweet.
Following the Fox News report, Gunn appeared to “unlike” the tweet.
The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro pointed out the apparent hypocrisy, saying that it “would be nice to see Gunn and co. defend Carano.”
Just a reminder: Disney canned Carano for an overwrought Holocaust comparison. They brought back James Gunn despite these tweets. I defended both from cancellation. Would be nice to see Gunn and co. defend Carano. pic.twitter.com/ZiUyLPjmMG
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 11, 2021
Pedro Pascal
Multiple critics of Disney’s apparent reasoning for the decision to fire Carano have pointed out that “Pedro Pascal, Carano’s co-star in Disney’s “The Mandalorian,” who openly cheers on Democrats on social media, made similar posts online to the ones that reportedly cost Carano her job, and yet he still remains employed with the company.”
Daniel Boczarski/WireImage for Disney
Past posts from Pascal soon surfaced, including one which showed an image of Jews behind barbed wire at a German extermination camp in 1944, comparing it to what he falsely claimed was a 2018 image of children in cages in the United States. Pascal added “#ThisIsAmerica” to the tweet.
#ThisisAmerica pic.twitter.com/LR3Yjj4JEQ
— Pedro Pascal he/him (@PedroPascal1) June 20, 2018
Pascal was criticized widely on social media, with Donald Trump Jr. asking why Disney discriminates “against women for doing what their male actors do or is is only discrimination against conservatives?”
Same Movie as @ginacarano, same analogy, though the pic has the wrong date… I'm told it was 2010 under Obama/Biden.
So does @Disney discriminate against women for doing what their male actors do or is is only discrimination against conservatives? https://t.co/D2q9Vo9GQX
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 11, 2021
Terry Moran (ABC)
Fox News reported just days ago that “Reacting to this week’s impeachment proceedings against Trump on a charge he incited an insurrection at the Capitol, ABC’s Terry Moran declared Trump has a ‘personalized power like we haven’t seen.’”
“It’s a caudillo, it’s a Caesar, it’s a Führer. We don’t see that in this country. We do now,” Moran said.
The word “Führer” was the German word for “leader” used to address Adolf Hitler.
In 2017, the ABC journalist also described Trump’s use of “America First” as a ”loaded term” that carried “overtones from the 1930s, when an anti-Semitic movement” blamed Jews for global problems.
“It’s a loaded term in American history. Now, he defined it here as total allegiance to the United States of America, and it is something, as [anchor] Cecilia [Vega] said, this is why he was sent here by people who want to hear that message of America first.
However, it carries with it overtones from the 1930s, when an anti-Semitic movement [said], ‘We don’t want to get involved in Europe’s war. It’s the Jews’ fault in Germany!’ Charles Lindbergh led them.”
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC)
Sharing “a TV gaffe that showed the title of an Adolf Hitler documentary under President Donald Trump as he spoke at a campaign rally,” ABC’s late night host Jimmy Kimmel joked “The Hitler family is furious. They’re talking about suing.”
Craig Sjodin via Getty Images
Walt Disney
While technically not eligible for cancelation, it’s important — and somewhat ironic — to acknowledge that the founder of the Walt Disney Company — Walt Disney — had an alleged history of comments and actions which — by today’s standards — would warrant immediate cancellation.
According to Biography, “In the 1930s, Disney attended meetings of a pro-Nazi organization, the German American Bund. He also hosted a known Nazi propagandist and filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl, and gave her a tour of Disney Studios. To make matters worse, Disney was also accused of perpetuating black stereotypes in his films.”
Jacqueline Nell/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.