By Christie D’Zurilla
Los Angeles Times
Gina Carano, who exited the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” and was banned from future “Star Wars” projects, has found a new home at pundit Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire. The actress will develop and produce her own film at the conservative news outlet, which announced it is branching out into entertainment content.
“This is just the beginning .. welcome to the rebellion,” the actress wrote Friday on social media as she retweeted Shapiro’s tweet promoting the new venture.
“I cried out and my prayer was answered,” Carano told Deadline Friday, praising Daily Wire for making her filmmaking dream come true. “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.”
Carano and Daily Wire co-founder Shapiro did not respond Friday morning to requests for comment sent via social media.
The conservative podcaster and radio host explained the company’s move into entertainment content in an editorial earlier this year.
“Republicans won’t win anybody over by simply disengaging,” Shapiro wrote before saying it was time for conservatives to blow up what he sees as the “Death Star” monopoly liberals have on popular culture. “We need those who aren’t political to engage with a different sort of content: content that is edgy and entertaining and awesome, but that doesn’t actively work to undermine the very values that have made this country exceptional. We need to give people options.
“So Daily Wire will, in 2021, be jumping into the world of entertainment content,” Shapiro continued. “We’re going to be bringing out movies — edgy, entertaining, awesome movies that won’t mock your values. We’re going to be producing TV shows — comedies and dramas that take you seriously, and that don’t take advantage of your viewership to promote Leftist causes.”
Carano — a former MMA fighter — was ousted from “The Mandalorian” and any other Lucasfilm projects after sharing a TikTok video that likened the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust to the treatment of conservatives today. That post has since been deleted.
She has previously been called out for posts that mocked wearing masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic and made fun of the practice of sharing one’s pronouns (which her former “Mandalorian” co-star Pedro Pascal does on his Twitter account).
Carano has also claimed voter fraud affected the results of the 2020 presidential election and has shared other conspiracy theories in her posts.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” a Lucasfilm representative said in a statement Wednesday. “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
It’s not the first time someone in the Disney sphere has been cut loose over social media concerns. In 2018, the company fired filmmaker James Gunn from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” after years-old offensive tweets were resurfaced by right-wing commentators in a targeted effort. (The writer-director was later reinstated on the project in 2019.)
Meanwhile, Carano did a podcast Wednesday with the conservative satire site Babylon Bee. The next day, the outlet posted a story headlined, “Gina Carano Rehired By Disney After She Identifies As An Abusive Male Director.”
