Gina Carano’s post-MMA career has proven to be fairly successful, with the former Strikeforce champion gaining prominence as an actor during following her fight days.
Carano made a high-profile appearance in “Fast and Furious 6” and landed starring roles alongside A-listers like Channing Tatum, Ryan Reynolds and Richard Dreyfuss.
Her performance as Cara Dune in the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” made her a household name a little more than a decade after her MMA debut. For two seasons, Carano appeared on the program, which proved one of the streaming platform’s most successful.
In 2021, Carano’s run on the show came to an abrupt end. Here’s what you need to know about Carano’s sacking, as well as how it has impacted her career up to now.
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Why did Gina Carano get fired from Disney?
Carano returned to prominence as Cara Dune in the Disney+ series, enjoying a two-season run on the program. In Feb. 2021, she was unceremoniously sacked after sharing controversial posts on social media.
Among the posts that got Carano in hot water was one comparing the “treatment” of conservatives in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic to the experiences of Jewish people during the Holocaust. Carano reposted the statement on her Instagram story.
Carano also changed her X (formerly Twitter) bio to “beep/bop/boop” in Sept. 2020, considered by some to be a slight towards those who put pronouns in their social media bios. Carano denied those claims, insinuating that it was instead a reference to Star Wars character R2-D2.
“They’re mad cuz I won’t put pronouns in my bio to show my support for trans lives,” Carano wrote on X. “After months of harassing me in every way. I decided to put 3 VERY controversial words in my bio.. beep/bop/boop I’m not against trans lives at all. They need to find less abusive representation.”
They’re mad cuz I won’t put pronouns in my bio to show my support for trans lives.
After months of harassing me in every way. I decided to put 3 VERY controversial words in my bio.. beep/bop/boop
I’m not against trans lives at all. They need to find less abusive representation.— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) September 13, 2020
Carano also shared messages alleging voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, as well as calling for the economy to open up in the midst of the pandemic, telling her followers that they have a right to work.
Carano’s controversial posts prompted a #FireGinaCarano petition to trend on social media. LucasFilm swiftly fired Carano following her Feb. 2021 tweet, telling People Magazine that there were “no plans” for Carano to be included in LucasFilm productions going forward.
During a Q&A with Disney shareholders, then-CEO Bob Chapek explained that Carano’s dismissal was the result of her not aligning herself with the multi-billion dollar corporation’s values.
Chapek reportedly told shareholders that he didn’t think of Disney as “left-leaning or right-leaning” but did think the company stood “for values that are universal: Values of respect, values of decency, values of integrity and values of inclusion.”
Carano’s character was written out of the show, with showrunners explaining her absence by saying Dune, a bounty hunter, was promoted to another unit.
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What did Gina Carano do?
Carano was dismissed after sharing a post on Instagram comparing the treatment of conservatives during COVID-19 to that of Jewish people during the Holocaust. She had made other controversial social media posts in the past. But her decision to share the statement comparing Holocaust victims to conservatives during the pandemic prompted her firing.
Disney called the post “abhorrent and unacceptable”, criticizing Carano for “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.”
Carano disagreed with her former employer’s decision. In 2024, she launched a lawsuit against Disney alleging she was fired for holding conservative political views. X owner Elon Musk footed the bill for Carano’s legal bills, making good on a vow to fund lawsuits for those “treated unfairly by [their] employer” for posts on his platform.
Carano settled her lawful termination lawsuit with the company in Aug. 2025. Carano said she was pleased with the way the suit turned out. The former MMA star indicated the tenor of her conversations with LucasFilm CCO Dave Filoni and “The Mandalorian” creator Jon Favreau had changed markedly compared to “that first very horrendous statement that they had put out years earlier”, per IGN. She also failed to rule out a return to the program.
Gina Carano political affiliation
Carano is a conservative. She’s been a vocal Donald Trump supporter over the years, speaking glowingly of the then-Republican presidential nominee during an appearance at a Turning Point Action PAC event in Las Vegas in Oct. 2024.
Gina Carano acting career
Carano first got her start acting in 2005, appearing in “Ring Girls”, a film about five women from Las Vegas who attempted to become Muay Thai stars. She got her first leading role in 2011, appearing opposite Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Bill Paxton in Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire.”
Carano was a fixture in action films of the 2010s, making appearances in “Fast and Furious 6” (2013), “In the Blood” (2014), “Extraction” (2015) and “Deadpool” (2016). In 2018, she was cast as Dune in “The Mandalorian.”
Since her dismissal from “The Mandalorian”, Carano has appeared in a handful of conservative-backed projects, from “Terror on the Prairie” (produced by right-wing outlet “The Daily Wire”) to “My Son Hunter.”
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