KISS‘s Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have defended actress Gina Carano after she was ousted from “The Mandalorian” over controversial social media posts.
Carano — a former MMA fighter who played Cara Dune in the hit Disney+ show — was dropped in February over a post that likened being a conservative in modern America to being a Jew in Nazi Germany.
“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future,” a spokesperson for Lucasfilm, which is owned by Disney, said in a statement at the time. “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”
Simmons and Stanley, who are both Jewish, addressed Carano‘s exit from “The Mandalorian” while answering questions from fans at a KISS VIP exclusive soundcheck event that was held in Austin, Texas on September 29. Asked if he is a fan of the breakout series, Gene called “The Mandalorian” “one of the best shows on TV” and said in reference to Carano: “They should have kept the chick, even though she had different political [views]. It’s not about politics; it’s about whether you’re a good actress.”
A couple of minutes later, Paul also weighed in on the topic, saying: “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. And to lose your job because you’ve got something to say — even if I find it offensive; I’ve gotta live with that. Plus she can kick my ass.”
In one of her since-deleted Instagram posts, Carano implied that there are similarities between being a Republican today and Jewish people living during the Holocaust.
“Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors … even by children. Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views,” the post she shared read.
This was not the first time Carano‘s social media posts had generated controversy. Back in November 2020, the now-39-year-old actress, who had been vocal about her support for then-president Donald Trump, openly questioned whether the 2020 presidential election was fair. At the time, she tweeted: “We need to clean up the election process so we are not left feeling the way we do today. Put laws in place that protect us against voter fraud.”
After Lucasfilm confirmed Carano‘s exit from “The Mandalorian”, some of her fans launched a campaign to boycott Disney+. The hashtag #CancelDisneyPlus was also trending.
Carano was also dropped by her agency, United Talent Agency, according to multiple reports.
