Gina Carano said she won’t fall without a fight in her first interview since she was fired from the Disney + series The Mandalorian, accusing the company of intimidating her and having a double standard.
Carano broke her silence with her new boss Ben Shapiro, sitting next to the conservative commentator for a special episode on Sunday The Ben Shapiro show where he claimed to have found out through social media that he had been removed from Star Wars franchise earlier this month.
The former MMA fighter faced widespread reactions when she redistributed a post suggesting that being conservative in 2021 was similar to being Jewish during the Holocaust. Lucasfilm quickly cut ties with her, saying that “social media posts that denigrate people based on their cultural and religious identity are ugly and unacceptable.” Prior to that Holocaust post, Carano also mocked the trans use of pronouns, shared the QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracies, and is a recognized COVID skeptic who has repeatedly downplayed both the pandemic and wearing a mask.
From Carano there was a radio silence about her shooting until Shapiro announced that he had teamed up with his conservative news and opinion site. The Daily Wire to produce a film in which she will play. He later said he would have an interview in the sitting room to discuss her dismissal – news shared by Carano on Twitter, along with the message: “Become a member [of The Daily Wire] and get a 25% discount on subscriptions using the code: GINA. ”
Carano has been swayed against Disney, admitting that the writing has been on the wall since she had crisis talks with the elderly last year, after she was accused of being transphobic.
“I’ve been through so much and I’ve seen so much now, clearly, about the harassment that has taken place and I’ve seen it before,” she said. “I’m not the only one who’s ever been assaulted by this company, and I know that so deeply.”
“I was ready to be let go at any moment, because I saw this happening to so many people. I saw the looks on their faces. I saw the harassment going on when it started … you know it’s just a matter of time. I saw it happen to so many people and I just thought to myself, “You’re coming after me, I know you are.” (Carano did not name any of these alleged people.)
“Just a few weeks ago, Lucasfilm asked an artist to hire me to delete my character and put another character in place, and he proudly announced this on Twitter, deleting my character and putting another character in place.” , added Carano.
She also accused Disney of having a double standard, saying the directors “watched [her] like a hawk, ”but other people“ from the same production [could] I say whatever they want, and that’s where I had a problem. ”
“I had a problem because I didn’t go with the narrative,” Carano added. “I could share a story and turn things around in the media, but I can’t do that because I would be selling a friend because I don’t have the same opinions as if I wouldn’t sell someone to get my attention … everyone is afraid of losing their job. ”
“I could share a story and turn things around in the media, but I can’t do that because it would sell a friend that I don’t really have the same opinions as I would sell someone take my attention … it’s everyone’s afraid of losing his job.”
Lucasfilm did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment until the date of publication.
During the one-hour interview, Carano said she considers herself conservative, acknowledging that she only recently became interested in politics and one of Shapiro’s books helped shape his views.
She only briefly touches on the job that was fired, which included a photograph of a Jewish woman in her underwear screaming as she ran away from young men and boys armed with batons in Ukraine in 1941 during the Lviv pogroms.
“Jews were beaten on the streets, not by Nazi soldiers, but by their neighbors … even children,” the post read elsewhere. “Because history is edited, most people today do not realize that in order to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily gather thousands of Jews, the government made their neighbors hate them simply because they are Jews. . How is it different to hate someone for their political views? ”
Carano insisted she was not trying to make comparisons, saying she was “so inspired by the gentle spirit of the Jewish people going through the Holocaust.”
She said her only intention was to “bring people together” and that she believed the post was “more about people tearing each other apart.”
When Shapiro tried to pivot the conversation in a lighter tone and talk about her trip to Hollywood and her fitness regime, Carano also tried to control the damage.
“I want people to know that this has not been easy,” she said. “I am a human being, I have so much to learn and grow and I am. I understand deeply, as if the curtains have been drawn and I see so much. ”
“Being canceled may become fashionable one day, but don’t think that when it happens to you, it will be easy because it is not. Maybe it will be one of the hardest things you’ve ever been through. But with each passing day, you find your feet again and stop feeling sorry for yourself and show up. ”
“My body is still shaking,” she added. “It’s devastating, but the thought of it happens to anyone else, especially to someone who couldn’t solve it the way I can, no, they can’t do that. They don’t make people feel that way. “
Again, following her dismissal, Carano was immediately hired by Shapiro The Daily Wire, whose first production has a very messy background story.