Kate Hackett
The Mandalorian recently lost one of its stars, Gina Carano, because of her controversial tweets. Many believed her to be writing anti-Semitic messages that suggested that being a Republican today was akin to being a Jew during the Holocaust. The outrage grew quickly and Carano lost her job as Cara Dune on the hit Disney+ show.
It was reported that she was set to have her own spin-off on the platform, which was also shelved. Her action figures were canceled and her character on the show will leave a void. There is chatter about having a recast done, but it remains in the air.
However, Carano is not the only Disney star making waves because of controversial tweets.
In August of 2019, Mulan star Yifei Liu tweeted support for the Hong Kong police during the government’s repression of pro-democracy protestors. In December of 2020, Black Panther star Letitia Wright tweeted a message that seemed to suggest a distrust of the coronavirus vaccine and comments speaking derogatorily toward trans people. She also liked and replied to tweets about Black Panther 2‘s cancellation.
The Hollywood Reporter published an editorial discussing Carano’s firing and addressed that the other two Disney stars also wrote controversial tweets and sparked a media frenzy, but they were not fired.
The Hollywood Reporter’s sources said that neither Wright nor Liu were talked to by Disney, but Wright entirely deleted her Twitter account and Liu avoided discussing Hong Kong during Mulan‘s promotional tours.
The difference in Carano’s situation seems to be that Wright and Liu did not continue pressing their points of views if those ideas were considered inappropriate by Disney. Carano, however, has been quite vocal about her “cancellation”.
Wright is likely still also in the Disney limelight; Black Panther 2 does seem to be on the way, based on recent casting notices.
However, Carano shows that no actor is immune to consequence and fans of Black Panther hope that Wright avoids controversy and Carano’s fate.
