Actor Gina Carano no longer has an affiliation with Lucasfilm production company after posting a statement on social media comparing her experiences in the present-day political climate to those of a Jewish person during the Holocaust.
Carano, who played the role of Cara Dune on the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” has faced no shortage of social media backlash over the past year from Instagram and Twitter users alike.
The most recent controversial statement was posted to Carano’s Instagram story.
In the post, Carano said, “Because history is edited, most people 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?”
Instagram stories disappear after twenty-four hours of posting; however, Carano deleted the post well before then due to the backlash.
In Sept. 2020, Carano wrote “beep/bop/boop” in her Twitter bio, and was accused of mocking the transgender community and usage of specific pronouns. Shortly after, she shared anti-mask-wearing memes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic on her Twitter account.
These controversial statements made by Carano have since led to the viral hashtag, “#fireGinaCarano.” The hashtag was made to bring awareness to what Carano had posted and persuade Lucasfilm to fire the actor in addition to removing her from the show.
This hashtag and other similar actions contribute to the 21st century term “cancel culture,” a form of online shaming that produces an unforgiving environment to specific targets. This can result in the target losing their fan base, career opportunities, and more.
Carano lost her TV role on “The Mandalorian” and plans for her own TV spin-off that was set to premiere on Disney+.
Carano is not the first celebrity to get caught up in cancel culture. She joins singer Lana Del Rey and YouTube star Shane Dawson, who have both been shamed for previous controversy.
Many debate on whether the actions taken against these individuals are too harsh, and if they are worthy of forgiveness.
“If they believe they did something wrong and they want to fix that, I believe there is always room for that in our society,” said Sacred Heart University’s Rabbi Marcelo Kormis.
After the comments made by Carano, many of her followers find it difficult to view her in the same positive light as they did before her statements.
“I think what Carano said was wrong, but I try to look for ways to forgive people who have made mistakes,” said freshman Isabella Bodak. “I think that if she can realize what she said wasn’t right and genuinely apologize, she can still be successful on the big screen.”
While the effects of cancel culture are usually long-lasting, there are multiple instances of celebrities who have made comebacks. An example would be TV personality Jimmy Fallon, who was seen wearing blackface in footage from 2000 that went viral in 2020. Fallon apologized on Twitter and has since been able to keep a supportive following for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“I think that we live in a time where people are less inclined to accept discrimination,” said Kormis. “People are more prone to speak up and step up against it.”
