“Freedom of speech is gone.” That’s how one Twitter user responded to recent events surrounding Gina Carano, an actress from the hit Star Wars TV series The Mandalorian. Lucasfilm recently fired her from this role due to her controversial social media posts. One such post compared the Nazi opposition to Jews with present-day political division in the U.S. Another instance occurred when fans asked her to place pronouns in her bio. Carano seemed transphobic to many when she added “boop/bop/beep” in place of traditional pronouns. In the wake of these controversies, some have criticized Disney, while others have praised them for their decision to fire Carano. This disagreement also involves the idea of “cancel culture,” which occurs when a recognizable figure loses both public support and professional opportunities due to scandals or otherwise negatively deemed actions. Carano’s firing begs a greater question about employment in the modern age: where should companies draw the line in regulating the social media presence of their employees?
Many conservatives argue that Carano’s firing punishes her for exercising “freedom of speech.” In his New York Post article, Kyle Smith discusses his belief that there has been a double standard practiced by Lucasfilm. While Carano was fired for her post about the Holocaust, her co-star Pedro Pascal made a post in 2018 comparing Holocaust concentration camps with the detention of illegal immigrants. Since Disney stayed silent about this, Smith sarcastically suggests that “Trivializing the Holocaust is fine as long as you’re doing so in the course of attacking anybody on the right.” Because of Hollywood’s liberal atmosphere, conservative figures stand out more for their political actions. It is possible that liberal comments of this nature would appear as less of an outlier and would not receive the same punishment. In this way, conservatives feel that their voices are being censored in the media and that this is just another example. Do companies, such as Disney, have a right to voice only one side of the political spectrum? Or is it more important to represent diverse voices in the media?
Carano’s firing also comes at a time when our society is becoming more aware of its canceled culture. In Carano’s case, and many others, this includes strong attacks on the figure’s reputation in an attempt to “cancel” the person and remove their celebrity status. Cancel culture prevents career opportunities, as well as valuable teaching moments. After Carano appeared transphobic on Twitter, her co-star Pedro Pascal, who has a trans sibling, educated her on the use of personal pronouns. She responded, “He helped me understand why people were putting them in their bios … I didn’t know before but I do now. I won’t be putting them in my bio but good for all you who choose to.” While this did not create the change many fans were looking for, Pascal took this as an opportunity to inform Carano rather than publicly shame her. Cancel culture is often a strong response that can impede possible learning moments. There is a difference, however, between being canceled and being fired. Lucasfilm’s decision to fire Carano is justified because Carano’s actions reflect poorly on the company.
Carano has received support from well-known conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ben Shapiro. Cruz wrote, “She played a woman who kicked ass & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again. Of course, Disney canceled her.” While Cruz and others criticize Disney for their decision, Carano will still be involved with acting. Two days after being fired, Carano announced that she would be partnering with The Daily Wire for a movie. Daily Wire Co-founder Ben Shapiro called Carano “an incredible talent dumped by Disney and Lucasfilm for offending the authoritarian Hollywood Left.” These two figures echoed the same sentiment that conservatives do not currently hold a place in mainstream media. For Daily Wire, it is up to them and other alt-right media outlets to give conservatives a voice.
While Shapiro views Carano’s actions as “offending the Hollywood Left,” Lucasfilm called them “abhorrent and unacceptable.” From Lucasfilm’s statement, it appears that Carano was fired not for her conservative political views but for “her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.” Carano has freedom of speech to express these views, but Lucasfilm is also free to fire an employee who does not align with their values. In this instance, there is a blurred line between what is inherently political and what is offensive. Lucasfilm wants to be viewed as supportive of minorities, particularly the LGBTQ+ and Jewish individuals who felt hurt by Carano’s actions. People are free to agree or disagree with Carano, but agreeing with her ideas does not invalidate Lucasfilm’s decision.
The real controversy, in this case, is whether these posts are considered protected political speech or offensive slander. While liberals may find them to be both, conservatives will continue to fight for their right to political expression in a liberal climate. Carano voiced this mission shortly after being fired: “I am sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian mob … They can’t cancel us if we don’t let them.”