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Among a series of polemical posts, Gina Carano compared being a Republican in the United States to being a Jew in the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
The former mixed martial artist turned actress posted a sequence of controversial pictures to her Instagram stories that ignited a movement to get her fired from her role in the Disney television series The Mandalorian.
The image that received the most criticism from the fans was a picture of Jewish people in the Holocaust with a caption written by Gina Carano:
"Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors... even by children," wrote Gina Carano in the now-deleted post. "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. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?"
A couple of hours after the post, the hashtag #FireGiraCarano was trending on Twitter, with thousands of new mentions emerging every minute. Following online pressure from fans, Lucasfilm and Disney decided to end Gina Carano's contract.
What did Disney say about Gina Carano?
The Mandalorian is a television series based on the Star Wars movie franchise and produced by the film and television production company Lucasfilm, founded by legendary director George Lucas. The company became a Walt Disney Studios subsidiary in 2012.
The studio decided to cut ties with the actress in response to angry fans demanding to see Gina Carano removed from her role as Cara Dune in The Mandalorian.
A statement released by a Lucasfilm spokesperson announced the former Strikeforce title challenger was no longer working for the production company:
"Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm, and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable."
What did UFC president Dana White say about Gina Carano's controversy?
Many have come forward defending Gina Carano. According to them, the actress did not do anything to warrant being axed from her job. As the hashtag #CancelDisneyPlus began, Republican politicians and other celebrities engaged in the argument.
Gina Carano's controversy hit the UFC as the promotion's president Dana White called ESPN's Ariel Helwani a "douche" for aligning against the actress. In this regard, White said:
"Leave Gina alone. Listen, we make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For everybody to go in on her - I love how Ariel Helwani made it all about him. It was all about him. Such a douche."
Republican Senator Ted Cruz was another influential name to defend the former MMA fighter:
"Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe: not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi. She played a woman who kicked ass & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again. Of course Disney canceled her," wrote Cruz.
However, since the announcement of her dismissal, Gina Carano has gotten involved with a new movie project being developed in partnership with the conservative website The Daily Wire, founded by Ben Shapiro - a political commentator known for his controversial opinions.
Gina Carano told Deadline:
"The Daily Wire is helping make one of my dreams — to develop and produce my own film — come true. I cried out and my prayer was answered. I am sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the 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. They can't cancel us if we don't let them."
