Disney’s decision to fire actress Gina Carano from The Mandalorian Last month was not about politics, CEO Bob Chapek said on Tuesday.
The company is not characterized as “leftist or rightist”, but represents “values that are universal: respect, decency, integrity and inclusion and we seek to make the content we make reflect the rich diversity of the world in which we live,” he said. “And I think this is a world in which we must all live in harmony and peace.”
Chapek made the comments after being asked about the situation during an annual conference call with Disney shareholders.
The subject was about to come up. Carano was fired from the Star Wars series last month, after she equated being a Republican today to being a Jewish person during the Holocaust.
The show’s producer quickly condemned his words.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her in the future,” said a spokesman. “However, your posts on social media denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are disgusting and unacceptable.”
The MMA star who became an actress angered fans of the franchise by saying that businesses and churches must reopen despite the COVID-19 pandemic, seeming to mock the use of trans pronouns on social media, listing hers as “boop / bop / beep” and spreading former President Trump’s unproven claims that the election was rigged. Dissatisfied viewers sent the phrase #FireGinaCarano as a trend on Twitter.
For his part, Carano announced that he will work on a politically conservative website The Daily Wire in a movie. “The Daily Wire is helping to make one of my dreams come true – to develop and produce my own film – “she said last month.” I cried and my prayer was answered. I am sending a direct message of hope to everyone who lives in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian crowd. I just started using my voice, which is now more free than ever, and I hope it inspires others to do the same. They cannot cancel us if we don’t allow it. “
Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro said, in part, that the company “couldn’t be more excited to work with Gina Carano, an incredible talent abandoned by Disney and Lucasfilm for offending the authoritarian left of Hollywood”.
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