Disney quits working with controversial Mandalorian star Gina Carano

LOS ANGELES (BLOOMBERG) - Lucasfilm, a unit of Walt Disney, said it has no plans to work in the future with Gina Carano, a star of The Mandalorian who posted comments on social media that many criticised as anti-Semitic.

"Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future," the company said on Wednesday (Feb 10).

"Nevertheless, her social-media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable."

One image she posted on Instagram, since deleted, included that of a half-naked woman being chased down the street during the Holocaust, according to Deadline, the entertainment website which reported on Lucasfilm's statement earlier on Wednesday.

"Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbours… even by children," Carano wrote.

"Because history is edited, most people today don't realise that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbours hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views."

She could not be reached for comment about Disney's statement.

Her talent agency, United Talent Agency, and publicity firm, ID Public Relations, both said they are no longer working with her.

A mixed martial arts fighter who transitioned into a TV career, Carano had been one of the stars of The Mandalorian, the first-live action show based in the Star Wars universe and a runaway hit for the company's new Disney+ streaming service.

She had been featured in both seasons of the show, playing a former rebel solider who becomes the title character's mercenary sidekick.

A supporter of Donald Trump, Carano had previously shared views on the Internet about alleged voter fraud in the US presidential election and against mask wearing during the pandemic.

A #FireGinaCarano trended on Twitter after her posts on Wednesday.

A conservative backlash gained momentum on Thursday, with the hashtag #CancelDisney+ also trending.

The Hollywood Reporter said Disney had planned a spinoff series featuring Carano until her public comments led the company to shelve that idea.

Coincidentally on Wednesday, news broke that HBO would feature Pedro Pascal, Carano's co-star from The Mandalorian, in a new series.

In an interview last month with a video blogger who goes by the name Drunk 3PO, Carano said: "I'm going to stick around, and if my presence bothers you, OK, but also a lot of people are not bothered by my Twitter presence or my social-media presence. So I focus more on those people. I bring the fire out in people. I'm not sure why."