Gina Carano, the actor who portrayed Cara Dune in the first two seasons of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, has been fired by Lucasfilm following "abhorrent" posts that she made on social media, including one which compared her conservative views to being a Jew during the Holocaust.
A spokesperson for Lucasfilm issued a statement saying, "Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future," according to Deadline. "Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable."
Carano's character, the Alderaanian bounty hunter Carasynthia Dune, had a major role in The Mandalorian Season 1 and Season 2, and given her popularity and the way the show left off, it was expected that she would return for Season 3.
However, her employers at the Lucasfilm production company reacted strongly to her recent controversial remarks. Carano shared a post on an Instagram story detailing how strong fascist influence in Europe made it easier for Nazis to persecute Jews by first making the rest of the world hate them. The post ends by positing, "How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?" As Carano is an outspoken political conservative and has attracted negative attention over her views, there appeared to be a clear comparison.
Many were upset by the use of the historic anti-Semitic tragedy being used for a parallel to the polarized discourse that characterizes modern politics, and demands for the actor to be removed from the popular Star Wars show began to grow heated.
Although the offending post has been removed from Carano's Instagram page, it is not the first time that her social media presence has caused an outcry. Earlier posts included suggestions that the 2020 US presidential election had been affected by voter fraud, and a dismissal of rules about wearing masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus.
Before the statement from Lucasfilm, fans campaigning for Carano to be removed from The Mandalorian had revived the hashtag #FireGinaCarano from the last occurrence of backlash against her posts.
UPDATE 02/10/21: Gina Carano is also no longer being represented by her agency, UTA, according to a report from Deadline.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Season 3 has yet to receive a premiere date.
Source: Deadline