How The Mandalorian’s Gina Carano Found Out She Was Fired From Disney+’s Star Wars Show

Gina Carano as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian (2021)

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The Mandalorian has been a major feather in Disney+’s cap, as the show has drawn critical acclaim from fans and critics alike and has brought in massive numbers for the streaming service. Of course, the show recently experienced a behind-the-scenes shake-up, as Gina Carano, who played Cara Dune, was fired from the show following “abhorrent” social media posts. The actress has since responded to her dismissal but, now, she’s opening up about how she first learned the news.

Gina Carano was let go by Lucasfilm and Disney after posting a message in her Instagram story that appeared to compare the current political climate to Nazi Germany. However, this wasn’t the first controversy created by the actress’ polarizing social media presence. One of these situations occurred last year when she appeared to mock people’s use of pronouns in their social media profiles. Carano recently recalled how Disney asked her to issue an apology:

Earlier on last year before The Mandalorian came out, they wanted me to use their exact wording for an apology over pronoun usage. I declined and offered a statement in my own words. I made clear I wanted nothing to do with mocking the transgender community, and was just drawing attention to the abuse of the mob in forcing people to put pronouns in their bio.

Gina Carano further explained to journalist Bari Weiss that as a result of the controversy, she was asked not to participate in the press tour for The Mandalorian Season 2. She says that was the last time she had any official communication with Disney or Lucasfilm, as she later learned of her firing through social media:

That was heart-breaking, but I didn't want to take away from the hard work of everyone who worked on the project, so I said ok. That was the last time I was contacted about any type of public statement or apology from Lucasfilm. I found out through social media, like everyone else, that I had been fired.

Carano received backlash on a few other occasions during her tenure on The Mandalorian. The actress came under scrutiny for sharing posts that expressed ant-mask sentiments in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She also tweeted out voter fraud theories regarding the 2020 US presidential election.

There have been a few developments since Gina Carano was let go by. At present, she’s been tapped to develop, produce and star in a movie for The Daily Wire. The hope is that the project will “bolster” the brand’s entertainment division. In addition, the actress’ social media following has actually grown, with her Instagram account gaining nearly 150K new users since she was fired.

The first two seasons of The Mandalorian are currently available to stream on Disney+, which you can sign up for using this link.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.