As the far right threatens to boycott Disney+ following Lucasfilm’s decision to fire Gina Carano for an increasingly aggressive series of anti-Semitic, transphobic, and anti-mask social media posts, Ted Cruz has predictably entered the fray by tweeting out an odd defense of Carano’s The Mandalorian character. In a strangely worded statement that seemingly trashes Carrie Fisher‘s iconic and truly groundbreaking role as Princess Leia, Cruz praises Carano for “making Star Wars fun again” and for being a role model to young girls.
“Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe,” Cruz tweeted. “Not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi. 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.”
Almost immediately, Star Wars fans were quick to blast Cruz for his “not a princess, not a victim” line by pointing out that Fisher’s Leia is an absolute badass, and one of the greatest strong female characters in cinematic history.
Are we just gonna pretend that General Leia Organa, who led the battle against the evil empire before we even knew the name "Gina Carano," was ever some helpless Disney princess or anything short of a badass? https://t.co/VmnAOyMKuN pic.twitter.com/bkq0xFyLRV
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) February 11, 2021
In the second scene Princess Leia appears in in the series, she dunks on Darth Vader to his face. Imagine thinking Gina Carano's character was better. https://t.co/eF4x5bMrAu
— Chris Towers is the Riley Greene Preservation Soc (@CTowersCBS) February 11, 2021
The Gina Carano issue aside, Carrie Fisher never played a victim — and she kicked ass. https://t.co/rm3p3Hsrhz
— Bill Kuchman (@billkuchman) February 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/colt2822/status/1359928474098614275
I speak for us all on this one. https://t.co/lEUNZPdaYV pic.twitter.com/6R4EA9Ikuo
— Jinxe (@jinxeptor) February 11, 2021
It also didn’t take long for Star Wars fans to chime in with even more examples of complex and beloved female characters that predate Carano’s Cara Dune, and whose inspiration can be traced back to Leia.
so about that… https://t.co/5l95DP8tBt pic.twitter.com/1G6takOsbK
— alex ♡ ia (@simp4skywalker) February 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/mandos_paneer/status/1359917485647040513
— rey (@lukesmara) February 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/amber_of_ivy/status/1359928816379035654
Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan, Leia, Rey, Rose Tico, Hera, Sabine, Jyn Erso, Holdo, Aphra, Qi’Ra and Ventress are just some of the many female Star Wars characters that were far better than Gina Carano.
Cara Dune is easily one of the most wooden characters in TV history. https://t.co/2mAWkxexSI
— Jacob (@JacobFisherDF) February 11, 2021
Naturally, Cruz was also taken to task for praising someone who equated being a modern-day Republican with Jews during the Holocaust. In a now-deleted Instagram post that finally led to Carano being fired, the post described Jews being beaten “not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors” — an odd distinction to make — before going big on the persecution complex. “How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?” Carano wrote. If Cruz feels that’s okay, well, there’s only one reaction to that:
https://twitter.com/Capt_Hangry/status/1359908316663717898
