Gina Carano Gets Support From Iconic Rock And Roll Band
An iconic rock-and-roll star came to the defense of Gina Carano and derided the effects of cancel culture in our current society
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When Gina Carano was fired from her role in The Mandalorian earlier the year, there were many in Hollywood who disagreed with her particular brand of politics. It just didn’t mesh with the messaging typically coming from those in acting circles. But it wasn’t like she sat out on an island. There were others out there who supported Carano and disagreed with the studio’s decision to let her go from her role as Cara Dune. Recently, a rock icon spoke out in support of Gina Carano, saying she shouldn’t have been let go from the show. Gene Simmons of the band KISS had a couple of things to say at a recent concert, standing in support of Gina Carano.
Gene Simmons and company were playing an exclusive show in Austin, Texas and as part of it, there was a Q&A for the crowd. One of the questions from the emcee Scotty Jayro of the Bombadcast, was about The Mandalorian on Disney+ and whether Simmons was a fan of the show. Simmons called it, “One of the best shows on TV.” Then there is a follow-up about what Simmons thought about Season 2. Simmons cuts to the chase with, “They should have kept the chick (Gina Carano) even though she had different political points of view. It’s not about politics, it’s whether you’re a good actress.” You can see the whole exchange below:
These are softball questions from Jayro in the sense that I am sure Gene Simmons knew they were coming. That’s fine. That kind of thing happens all of the time, especially with events like this. It is unreasonable to think that something like this would catch him off guard. Does it seem like something of a non sequitur? Sure, but for a fan event, it isn’t totally nuts. Simmons did have a few more thoughts on cancel culture as a whole when he picked up a little later.
You were talking earlier about Gina Carano, right? Look, political views, this whole cancel culture is so dangerous. The idea that people can’t speak their mind. That’s what freedom is all about. To lose your job because of something you said, even if I find it offensive, that’s…we’ve gotta look at that.
So there you have it. Gina Carano still has supporters out there, even if some of them are 72-year-old former rockstars. Though it’s hard to argue with Simmons’s thoughts on cancel culture here. Tying job status to independent thoughts, even if they are a bit left or right of center is the most slippery of slopes. Carano ran into this during last fall/ winter when she kept a steady stream of social media posts that continued to draw significant ire.
During the US Presidential election, Gina Carano seemed to be in support of Donald Trump and leaned into the ideas around election fraud. And when it came to the pandemic, Carano derided mask-wearing mandates, likening them to government officials trying to control the populace. The final straw came in the spring when she compared the treatment of the Republican Party to that of the early days of the Holocaust and the treatment of Jews. This last one was when Disney called the ball and fired her from The Mandalorian.
Gina Carano quickly landed another production deal, this time with the conservative outlet The Daily Wire. Though no one would confuse them with the reach and size of Disney. And she hasn’t taken her foot off the social media gas either. There have been other dust-ups of late including her response to a Joe Biden speech as well as other things. Much to Gene Simmons’s apparent chagrin, it doesn’t look like she will be returning to The Mandalorian anytime soon.
