Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) went to bat for now-canned Disney star Gina Carano via social media on Thursday afternoon, slamming the mega-corporation for “canceling” the actress.
“Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe: not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi,” Cruz wrote. “She played a woman who kicked ass & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again”
“Of course Disney canceled her,” the senator added.
Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe: not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi. She played a woman who kicked ass & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again. Of course Disney canceled her.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 11, 2021
Carano became front page news on Wednesday night when it was made public that she had been cut from popular Disney+ show “The Mandalorian,” seemingly over a recent social media post warning of political division in relation to Nazi Germany. The caption of Carano’s now-deleted post read as follows:
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 noted by The Daily Wire, a report from The Hollywood Reporter (THR) suggests LucasFilms wanted to fire Carano from the show before the controversy sparked this week:
But a source with knowledge of Lucasfilm’s thinking told THR this was not a new idea. “They have been looking for a reason to fire her for two months,” the person said, “and today was the final straw.”
THR cited Carano’s previous “contentious tweets,” including one in which she commented on the integrity of elections.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” said a statement from a Lucasfilm spokesperson, released Wednesday night. “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Aside from getting fired from the hit show, Carano was also let go as a client from the United Talent Agency (UTA), The Daily Wire reported.
Back in September, calls for Carano to be fired trended on social media after the actress was accused of mocking transgender people. When asked to show “solidarity” with trans folks by adding her “preferred pronouns” to her Twitter bio, Carano added “Beep/Bop/Boop” in lieu of the pronouns, triggering social justice warriors to blast the actress as transphobic.
Following the dustup, Carano made it clear that she would not be putting “preferred pronouns” in her bio while emphasizing that she stands “against bullying.” The star also hit back against against critics. The Daily Wire reported:
“Yes, Pedro [Pascal] & I spoke & he helped me understand why people were putting them in their bios,” Carano wrote to social media. “I didn’t know before but I do now. I won’t be putting them in my bio but good for all you who choose to. I stand against bullying, especially the most vulnerable & freedom to choose.”
The next day, in a response to conservative radio host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo, Carano said the “woke world” was mad at her because she won’t “put pronouns” in her bio “to show my support for trans lives.”
“After months of harassing me in every way. I decided to put 3 VERY controversial words in my bio.. beep/bop/boop,” she continued. “I’m not against trans lives at all. They need to find less abusive representation.”
Accused of “mocking” trans people over the bio change, the actress responded, “I don’t think trans people would like all of you trying to force a woman to put something in her bio through harassment & name calling EVERYDAY for MONTHS. Such as ‘Racist’ ‘Transphobe’ ‘B****’ ‘Weirdo’ ‘I hope you die’ ‘I hope you lose your career’ ‘[you’re] fat, you’re ugly.”
“Maybe they should be mad at the mockery so many of you made of them,” she continued. “I sure would be, if I were them. Maybe wiping the slate clean without the hate speech towards others isn’t a bad idea at this point.”
Carano added, “I know trans people wouldn’t condone this harassment when they hear about the CHiLDREN, women & men who have contacted me, thanking me for taking a stand against these bullies because it effected their mental health to the point of near suicide at times. Ya. That’s happening.”
Related: ‘Final Straw’: Hollywood Reporter Sources Say Disney Wanted To Fire Carano In November