CaraNO?
Disney Fires Gina Carano From
​Their Hit Show “The Mandalorian”

By: Reggie Agossa, Intern Writer

Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/ FilmMagic RODIN ECKENROTH/​FILMMAGIC/GETTY
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What can be defined as freedom of speech? I’m sure Gina Carano is asking that very question right now after Disney saw fit to fire her from their Number 1 show “The Mandalorian”. Now for most people, this seems brash and out of the blue. However, many Twitter users are rejoicing because their voices have finally been heard. The silent minority has been heard, but how did we get to this point and why do people dislike her?

Before the second season of “The Mandalorian” debuted in the fall of 2020, people started to see controversial posts from the actor’s social media accounts. I first became aware of her tweets by other users when I heard rumblings that she said “I’m not against trans lives at all. They need to find less abusive representation,”. After I looked back I saw that the tweets were taken out of context, in her own way, she was trying to defend trans people. That was also my first introduction to her as a person instead of as one of her on-screen personalities. 

​My first time hearing about her was when she was announced to be joining the elusive show. The rumor was that she would be playing a bounty hunter Esque fighter. People were initially excited by this because of her background as an MMA fighter, which meant that she could play a more physical role and try her hand at acting.

Much to my amusement, I liked her in the role, and the first season didn’t give her too many acting moments with the show leaning into her more physical role. She was delightful in both aspects and I was excited to see her in season 2. However, a lot can happen in between seasons, case in point the COVID-19 pandemic. Another topic that caused contention in her eyes, with her tweeting a meme that showcases people wearing masks over their eyes stating “Breaking News: Democratic Government Leaders Now Recommends We All Wear Blindfolds Along with Masks So We Can’t See What’s Going On”. This being extremely insensitive about something that has already affected the lives of countless people around the world. 

The most damning post is also the straw that broke the camel's back. In an Instagram post made on February 10th, 2021 she shared a screenshot from WarriorPriestGymPodcast of what seems to be a Jewish girl during the holocaust running away from Nazis. The caption of the screenshot implies that the condemning of one's shared political beliefs is similar to what Jewish people had to go through when their neighbors would sell them out to the government.

This wild comparison among the growing number of people threatening to stop supporting Disney over her previous thoughts and social media postings ultimately left Disney with a choice. Either they keep her on and ignore these statements like they did when season 2 was airing, or they enforce their no-tolerance policy and fire and condemn Carano’s actions. 

The choice was fairly obvious and led Disney to part ways with the actress. It has also been reported that Carano’s talent agency has also dropped her from their roster as a way to distance themselves from her. Leading to her being a trending topic on Twitter from February 10th to the 11th of 2021
Still, people use the statement of Freedom of Speech to come to her defense, which is not wrong on theirs or her part. However, one thing that must be considered is the fact that Freedom of Speech doesn’t protect you from the consequences your words create. You can say whatever you want, however, if you are an employee of a multibillion-dollar company they reserve the right to terminate their relationship with you, to preserve what benefits its wellbeing. 

We know that this is a precedent already because of Disney firing James Gunn over his past tweets in 2018. Of course, Disney ended up rehiring him almost a year later, an act people either forgave or were staunchly against. This is a different case because maybe a day or two later Gunn released a statement apologizing for those comments he made almost a year ago - which doesn’t make it right, but still shows atonement of some sort. At the time of my writing this we haven’t seen a formal apology from the actress.

As for whether she may return in the future.  Lucasfilm (“Star Wars” Parent company) would go on to state that they have no plans for her in the future. Which in this case isn’t all that bad, she wasn’t entirely integral to “The Mandalorian’s” plot. However, the show did set the stage for her involvement in Disney’s new “Star Wars” series “Rangers of the New Republic”. It wouldn’t be impossible to have her character doing missions off-screen or just never mentioning her again. Would that technically be a self-imposed exile? Maybe, but the house of the mouse takes its image very seriously.