Why was ‘face of women’s MMA’ Gina Carano removed from Star Wars franchise?
Gina Carano’s role in The Mandalorian was well received. However, after the second season, she was fired by Disney. Check out the reason below
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Gina Carano as Cara Dune (Image Courtesy - Mashable)
Gina Carano deserves her place as one of the pioneers of Women’s MMA. She and Ronda Rousey contributed immensely to becoming the face of Women’s MMA at its inception. She put on a seven-fight winning streak to start her MMA career. However, she lost via TKO to Cris Cyborg in a Strikeforce PPV in her eighth professional fight. She did not announce her retirement but has not fought since 2009. Carano is still under a UFC contract after the company brought the Strikeforce in 2012.
Gina Carano started her Hollywood career in 2009, landing major roles in the Fast and Furious franchise and Deadpool. She starred as one of the leading characters in the Star Wars franchise as the popular character Cara Dune. The Mandalorian became popular due to the vision of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. They used nostalgia as a concept, and even a younger version of Luke Skywalker returned in the series. The series also saw the live-action debut of Ahsoka Tano.
The series had tremendous potential, and the fans loved the first two seasons. Carano’s character Cara Dune has a highly skilled and battle-hardened experience. The character excels in weaponry, fighting, and battle tactics. Cara Dune intensely hated the Galactic Empire due to its involvement in destroying her homeworld.
The reception of her character got mostly positive reviews. Olivia Luchini of PopSugar called her a character “worthy of riotous applause and a feminist role model, calling her unique even among the Star Wars franchise’s strong female characters due to her physicality and combat skills. Cara serves as a role model, particularly for female fans who consider themselves a little rugged and audacious.” However, after two seasons, Disney fired her over her controversial remarks on social media. Since then, she has not appeared in any major Hollywood production. She did not apologize for her comments.
Why was Gina Carano fired from The Mandalorian?
Gina Carano was an outspoken conservative and publicly supported the Republican Party. Hollywood is known for their leanings towards the Democratic Party and the concept of Liberalism. Actors and comedians in Hollywood, such as Robert De Niro, Bill Maher, Pedro Pascal, and Dave Bautista, have all showcased their leanings toward the Democratic party and liberal policies.
Due to her outspoken nature, Gina Carano made her post a comparison of Republicans of 2021 to Jews that became the enemy during the Holocaust. The comparison did not sit well with people on social media, and Disney decided to fire her. In a statement, Disney said, “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm, and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
However, the matter is not that simple. Carano made mocking comments about masks in 2020 and cited voter fraud during the 2020 Presidential elections. A source within Lucasfilm told THR, “They have been looking for a reason to fire her for two months, and today was the final straw.” Carano was fired for her political leanings, and the comments about Jews were the best reason to fire her. She has not returned to Hollywood films since getting fired from The Mandalorian. She has continued her acting career with the conservative media outlet The Daily Wire, where she starred in Terror on the Prairie opposite former UFC fighter Donald Cerrone.
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Nidhin Shibu
(2537 Articles Published)