Josh’s View | Ex-Star Wars actress teams up with right-wing commentator for future project

“The Mandalorian” actress had quite the controversial social media history leading up to her termination from the Disney+ show on Feb. 10.

Gina+Carano+%28left%29+pictured+with+Henry+Cavill+at+the+2013+BAFTAs+ceremony.+Courtesy+of+Wikimedia+Commons

Gina Carano (left) pictured with Henry Cavill at the 2013 BAFTAs ceremony. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It has been more than a week since actress and former MMA fighter Gina Carano was pulled from Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.” She soon alluded to a future comeback in the entertainment industry that will be sure to further divide “Star Wars” fans among party lines.

Carano was reportedly pulled from the series on Feb. 9 due to an inflammatory Instagram story she posted comparing the restrictions of conservative Americans to Jewish people during the Holocaust.

“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,” the post read. “How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”

Aside from the graphic image and bigoted caption, Carano added a Dead Kennedys song to the post, titled “Nazi Punks F— Off.” The song choice, along with the hyperbolized analogy, was taken harshly from fans. 

Carano pulled the post on Feb. 11 as media outlets began releasing articles on the subject. Despite the overwhelming outrage, Carano persisted in her beliefs with the announcement of an upcoming documentary starring herself on Feb. 12.

Political commentator Ben Shapiro teased his and Carano’s upcoming project on Twitter. He began his tweet with a quoted statement from the actress.

“‘They can’t cancel us if we don’t let them,’” he tweeted followed with a hashtag, “#GinaCaranoIsUncancelled.” 

The tweet attached a promotion code along with an article from his affiliated conservative and opinions website, The Daily Wire. 

In the article, Carano said it had been a dream to produce her own feature film. She said she hoped her removal from the Lucasfilm project was enough to inspire others to think for themselves. She refers to Disney and the media as a “totalitarian mob.” 

“I have only just begun using my voice which is now freer than ever before, and I hope it inspires others to do the same,” she said.

Approximately one hour later, Carano retweeted Shapiro and responded

“This is just the beginning,” she said. “Welcome to the rebellion.”

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1360292623722811393

And Carano further posted right-leaning tweets amid the lingering controversy.

The day after Carano was fired, she tweeted about her interest in appearing on “The Babylon Bee” podcast. The podcast is situated on a conservative Christian website best known for its satirical articles. 

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1359600147554947073

The Babylon Bee published an article responding to Disney+ and Lucasfilm directly. 

The satire is titled, “Disney Posts Job Ad Looking For Strong, Fierce Women Who Are Also Obedient, Submissive, and Docile.” 

The lead of the fake article mentioned Carano’s departure due to being “outed as a kind, decent person,” and “a mouthy female who speaks her mind too much.” 

Though Carano’s post was the final straw for Disney, it definitely wasn’t the star’s first brush with social media controversy. These are some of Carano’s most notable Twitter complaints.

THE SECURITY OF MAIL-IN VOTING

On Dec. 8, Carano posted a Facebook meme questioning the logic of mail-in voting by making a case for a mail-in vaccine. 

“Sure I’ll take the vaccine, just mail it to me,” the post read. “My health and safety are too important to show up in person. Just like mail in voting, you know, safe, secure and honest.”

Posters in response to her photo speculated on her soon-to-be departure from “The Mandalorian.”

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1336323751231680514

PRONOUN USAGE

On Sept. 13, Carano responded to another poorly timed joke she made when referring to transgender people. 

Many social media users now include their pronouns in their bios. Pronouns may look like “he/him,” “she/her” or “they/them.” 

Carano decided to make a Star Wars-themed joke with the referral of “beep/boop” in her Twitter name. She soon after received backlash.  

Her tweet in response to the drama said, “Beep/bop/boop has zero to do with mocking trans people and [100] to do with exposing the bullying mentality of the mob that has taken over the voices of many genuine causes.”

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1305301756792860674

MORE ON VOTER FRAUD

On Nov. 5, Carano made a post for voters to band together and “clean up the election process.”

Among her list of proposals were to investigate every state for voter fraud, film the counting of votes, end voter fraud and “fix the system.”

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1324385598539399168

Nine days later, she posted another meme related to voter collusion and wearing masks.

“Democratic government leaders now recommends we all wear blindfolds along with masks so we can’t see what’s really going on.”

Attached was a photo of two men wearing face masks over their eyes.

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1327806477923323904

COVID-19 REGULATIONS: 

On Sept. 6, Carano made a statement against coronavirus lockdowns against business and churches. 

She said if places of worship are subject to social distance, then protestors should be subjected to the same treatment. 

“Open up your businesses & churches,” she said. “Put whatever regulations you want to because that is your right but open them up. You’re telling me COVID-19 knows the difference between a protest or praise & worship.”

https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1302484284624629760

Joshua LeBerte is a sophomore studying news media. His column, “Josh’s View,” covers national pop culture items and runs regularly.