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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Right-wing Star Wars actress who won a battle for free speech
If ever Hollywood decides to remake Frank Capra's classic 'little man against the system' picture Mr Smith Goes To Washington, they could do worse than star mixed-martial-artist-turned-actress Gina Carano in the lead. Only this time, Carano's nemesis would not be the forces of political intrigue, but the entertainment powerhouse Disney. Capra's film had a happy ending, in which Mr Smith's integrity and decency won out, and so it has proved for Carano, who was sacked by Disney from the television series The Mandalorian in 2021 for, essentially, the expression of her political views. She has now won a high-profile lawsuit against the company, in which it has grovellingly settled out of court and issued a humiliating statement: 'We look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms Carano in the near future.' She, meanwhile, wrote on X – the platform owned by Elon Musk, who bankrolled her case on free speech grounds and whom she thanked profusely for his assistance – 'Yes, I'm smiling.' While the Right will be celebrating, and the liberal Left reacting in scorn and disbelief, it is useful to remember what, exactly, Carano was found 'guilty' of. When she was initially cast in the Pedro Pascal star vehicle The Mandalorian in 2019, playing the character of Cara Dune, Carano had successfully transitioned from mixed martial arts fighting into acting. Her most notable role before then was the lead in Steven Soderbergh's 2011 action picture Haywire, in which she starred opposite A-listers including Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas and Ewan McGregor. She more than held her own, and went on to appear in the action films Fast & Furious 6 and Deadpool, as well as films with titles like Kickboxer: Vengeance and Scorched Earth. Her casting in The Mandalorian, therefore, represented a bid for respectability, positioning her as an actress rather than simply an accomplished ass-kicker. Her character swiftly became a fan favourite and, had matters been different, it is likely that Cara Dune would have continued into the show's third series, and the forthcoming film spin-off. There was even talk of a Cara Dune series, with the potential title of Rangers of the New Republic. The Star Wars films have often been criticised for their comparatively weak female characters. Carano's unapologetically ballsy character was intended by the showrunner, Jon Favreau, to be someone who was 'raising stakes and raising hell'. 'Abhorrent and unacceptable' Favreau got his wish, but not quite in the way that he had anticipated. Carano had never hidden her conservative political views, which she expressed in typically forthright fashion on social media. But matters shifted after the 2020 US presidential election, when she shared her belief that there had been widespread voter fraud resulting in the election being called for Joe Biden rather than Donald Trump. (She tweeted 'make voter fraud end in 2020'.) When the Covid outbreak began, she was similarly dismissive of the widespread need for masks, suggesting that they were unnecessary. Her employers observed her remarks with gritted teeth, and waited for an opportunity to rid themselves of a potential embarrassment. It was not long in coming. In February 2021, Carano shared an Instagram post in which she compared the apparent persecution of people for the expression of their political views to how the Jews were treated during the Holocaust. It may have been emotive, but it was also fair comment. Disney subsidiary Lucasfilm, however, did not see it like this, and described her post as 'abhorrent and unacceptable' before sacking her from The Mandalorian following a social media campaign to dismiss her bearing the hashtag #FireGinaCarano. Lucasfilm's statement (which Carano saw online rather than being privately informed about) high-mindedly declared that 'Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future'. Both her agency and her lawyer dropped her, fearing collateral embarrassment. Carano, in other words, had been thoroughly cancelled. But the star had made her name and forged her reputation in the ring, and she refused to go quietly. She went on the conservative podcast The Ben Shapiro Show shortly afterwards and said, 'I've seen the bullying that takes place. I'm going to go down fighting.' Yet her dismissal also had a severe personal impact. She told the Hollywood Reporter in 2024: 'I just laid down and cried and cried. I curled into a foetal position. It's not that I didn't think that something like that could happen. It was that I couldn't imagine they would put out this horrendous statement about me after working with me – the most powerful entertainment company in the world saying that about me.' Double standards Had it not been for Musk publicly offering to bankroll court cases involving free speech, and the shift in political opinion in the United States, then Carano would have had limited options. She did not work again as an actress, except in a couple of low-budget, conservative-friendly productions (one of these, a satire on Hunter Biden, saw her star opposite her British equivalent, actor-turned-provocateur Laurence Fox). Yet she was also swift to observe the double standards at play. Her co-star, Pedro Pascal, was similarly outspoken politically, but on the Left rather than the Right – something he has maintained to this day with his criticism of JK Rowling – and tweeted in 2018 that the treatment of migrant children in the US was akin to that of the Jewish people in the Holocaust. As Carano told Shapiro: 'I know that we both have mis-stepped on our tweets. We're not perfect. We're human beings. But he's not a bad human being. He's a sweet person.' Yet Pascal faced no sanction from anyone at Disney or Lucasfilm. Carano, however, was 'watched like a hawk. I had a problem because I wasn't going along with the narrative'. Carano admitted that she had acted in a way that had marked her out. She had posted things on social media that were felt to be critical of trans people and the modish Black Lives Matter movement, and she later told the Hollywood Reporter: 'Stuff like that I deleted, because I don't want to be associated with anything like that.' Yet the perception of her as a Right-wing provocateur – worsened when she used the words 'boop/bop/beep' as her pronouns in her Twitter bio – resulted in her being sent by Lucasfilm and Disney to what she described as 'a re-education camp', where she was told by transgender representatives from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) that she was expected to put out a statement of apology. Although she described the conversation as 'sweet and fun', and the representatives as 'lovely people', Carano called it 'one of those statements that almost makes you roll your eyes'. She was then ordered to attend a mass meeting of the LGBTQ group at the studio, which she was sternly informed would be a 'litmus test' for whether she could have a career in the future. She declined, saying instead, 'Can I take five or six of these trans leaders to dinner? I'll pay for it.' Her offer was declined, and that was it for her. Prior to her firing, Pascal – who has a trans sister, and whom Carano continued to praise – had tried to advise her. 'He was telling me, 'Just put #transrights in your feed. Do it and they'll leave you alone,'' Carano said. He may well have been right. Yet few would have been convinced that Carano was doing it except under severe duress. However, now that she has fought and won on her point of principle, she can claim vindication. As she incredulously said to the Hollywood Reporter, 'Boop/bop/beep? Seriously? This was the start of the end for me? A 20-year career, the blood, sweat and tears of fighting?' Disney in Trump's America It is a mark of how swiftly, and how much, things have changed since Trump's re-election last year that the issue of pronouns – whatever they are – in a social media bio now seems ridiculous rather than somehow crucial. Yet the 'journey' that Disney has been on over the past decade or so is a fascinating one. Bob Iger, the company's chief executive – who, when he was asked by the Hollywood Reporter last year if he had any comment on Carano's lawsuit, simply replied 'None' – is nobody's fool. As soon as Trump returned to office, Iger began building bridges with the White House and the wider Republican party. In 2024, he instructed the Disney-owned ABC News to donate $15m to Trump's presidential library and to make an on-air apology after the president began a lawsuit when the show's anchor, George Stephanopoulos, incorrectly said Trump had been found 'liable for rape'. Iger will be treading extremely carefully over the coming months to attempt to keep the most powerful man in the world on side. It also represents something of a surprise that Carano would ever consider working for, or with, Disney again. Last year, she blasted the company after it attempted to throw out the lawsuit, by saying on X: 'Disney has confirmed what has been known all along, they will fire you if you say anything they disagree with, even if they have to MISREPRESENT, MALIGN, and MISCHARACTERIZE you to do it … If you ever wanted to know what today's 'Disney values' are, they just told you.' Predictably, the settlement has enraged the Left. One X user contemptuously wrote that 'Yes, Gina Carano is a conservative crank who hates trans people and thinks the 2020 election was stolen, but she is also the single worst actor I have ever seen in my life.' But that is an increasingly marginal view; for many Star Wars fans, the universe suddenly seems like a more welcoming place. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Gizmodo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Lucasfilm and Gina Carano Have Settled Their Lawsuit
The saga of Cara Dune vs. Star Wars has come to an end. Lucasfilm and the Walt Disney Company have reached an agreement with actress Gina Carano in their legal dispute over her firing from The Mandalorian. 'The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies,' a spokesperson from Lucasfilm said. 'Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect. With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.' This story is ongoing… Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
