Gina Carano sat down with The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro for his “Sunday Special” program in order to discuss cancel culture and the importance of standing up to the attempt by some people in power to silence alternative viewpoints.
Carano was fired from the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, after she posted messages on social media that the company claimed were “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.” In reality, the company had been reportedly looking to fire Carano for some time due to her conservative views. Since being “canceled,” Carano announced a partnership with The Daily Wire.
Carano described the backlash and treatment she received after being fired from the show, noting that she has always gone out of her way to stick up for other people and does not take character accusations lightly.
“I’ve been called so much. I’ve been called ‘racist,’ I’ve been called ‘transphobe,’ I’ve been called ‘homophobe,’ I’ve been called now ‘anti-semitic,'” she said, “and I’m like, I don’t take those lightly. Like you’re calling me, my soul, the blood that runs through me, you’re calling me that … you say that once to me, like, you’re done. I don’t want to talk to you ever again.”
Carano began her career as a women’s MMA fighter and told Shapiro how she has always been a person who prided herself on standing up for others and being a safe place for people to turn to in difficult situations.
“My actions towards other human beings have spoken for themselves … I am the one that, on sets, people come and cry to. I’m the one that sticks up for someone … like, ‘Hey, this is enough, this person needs out of this, like, they can’t breathe.’”
“And I’ve always been like that. I’ve stuck up for, like, minorities everywhere. I’ve gotten in fistfights. I’ve been in actual fights growing up in Las Vegas because I cannot stand bullying.”
The Daily Wire reported on Carano’s interview and how she was prepared to be fired, but didn’t want to back down:
“I was prepared at any point to be let go because I’ve seen this happen to so many people,” she said. “I’ve seen the looks on their faces. I’ve seen the bullying that takes place, and so when this started, they point their guns at you, and you know it’s only a matter of time. I’ve seen it happen to so many people, and I just thought to myself … you’re coming for me, I know you are.’”
“They’re making it very obvious through their employees who were coming for me, and so I was like, ‘I’m going to go down swinging and I’m going to stay true to myself,’” she said.
She told Shapiro how the treatment she received was difficult for her. “My body still is shaking, you know? It’s still devastating.”
Carano took a deep breath, and continued, “But the thought of this happening to anybody else, especially, like, somebody who could not handle this the way I can? No.”
Her tone shifted and she became serious. “They don’t get to do that. They don’t get to make people feel like that. And if I buckle, then little girls and little boys, who are not getting … a good fair shake at growing up right now, if I buckle, it’s going to make it okay for these companies who have a history of lying to be lying, and to do this to other people. And they’ve done it to other people and —”
She paused, then declared, “And I’m not going down without a fight.”
The full interview is available here.