Remove Gina Carano from the Guest Line Up at Vancouver Fan Expo 2024

Gina Carano played a fan-favorite Star Wars character on The Mandalorian until she was abruptly fired by Lucasfilm in 2021. This was followed by her making anti COVID-19 vaccine comments, blaming the Biden administration for the deaths of vaccinated people, transphobic statements, saying that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a victim of conspiracy, and anti Semitic statements publicly comparing the genocide of the Jews to the experience of being a conservative in the USA.

Who is Gina Carano? Between 2006 and 2009, Carano competed in MMA. In 2011 she was cast in the film Haywire, and went on to play as Riley Hicks in Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and as Angel Dust in Deadpool (2016).  She then was cast in the Star Wars galaxy when she was cast as the Alderaanian bounty hunter Carasynthia “Cara” Dune in The Mandalorian. Cara Dune became a fan favorite almost immediately upon her appearance in Chapter 4 (season 1, episode 4), “Sanctuary.”

But in 2021 she made a series of posts that ended up getting her fired from Lucasfilms and pretty much ended her career as an actress, many of which were deleted but some remain in her account today.

1. She challenged the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in the beginning but the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. She blamed the Biden administration for the deaths of vaccinated people.
3. She shared a story on her Instagram account that refers to the death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, implying that he was a victim of something conspiratorial: “Jeff Epstein didn’t kill himself.”
4. When she was encouraged to add her personal pronouns to her Twitter profile, she instead added “boop/bop/beep,”.
5. She then tweeted “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.”
6. She made a post to fellow Mandalorian cast member Pedro Pascal “Yes, Pedro & I spoke & he helped me understand why people were putting them in their bios. I didn’t know before but I do now. I won’t be putting them in my bio but good for all you who choose to. I stand against bullying, especially the most vulnerable & freedom to choose.”
7. Then she shared another account instagram story saying “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.” Gina Carano literally compared being a conservative and Trump supporter to the attempted genocide of Jewish people in WW2.

The day after that last post, Lucasfilm released a statement saying, “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Gina Caranos agency, United Talent Artists terminated her contract saying “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.”

Regardless of one’s political views or whether they support Gina Caranos views in any way, there is no denying the announcement of her as a guest has created a lot of discourse among those that attend and don’t attend fan expo, with some people voicing their disapproval to some saying they either won’t go to the expo or wanting their money back for tickets and photo ops with other guests.

There is also now a chance because this is not a respected person in the acting industry, that other guests for Vancouver Fan Expo might cancel their appearance to Fan Expo, further disappointing fans who will be attending. Gina Caranos posts did not go well with other celebrities and actors.

Because of her hateful and hurtful comments towards marginalized groups like the LGBTQ+ community and in particular trans people, this also can make for an uncomfortable experience for people who are part of this community, being at a venue with Gina Carano, to where many would feel unsafe. This does not make for a safe environment at all at Vancouver Fan Expo.

Because her other comments made that could have hurt sexual assault survivors, people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Jewish community, and in particular survivors of the holocaust of WW2, on top of the anti trans comments, this further makes Gina Carano a guest who doesn’t make for creating a fun and safe environment at Fan Expo 2024.

Because these topics are very personal, and are very heated topics where Gina Carano has voiced strong and offensive views on, this can create a lot of discourse and animosity among fans who are considering or will be attending Vancouver Fan Expo. Even with those who may support or share Gina Caranos views and thoughts, this has created a lot of conflict online and at the venue with those that go to Vancouver Fan Expo. There is already a lot of arguing, conflict, harassment, bullying and threats of violence online… I’m worried this could transpire in person at Vancouver Fan Expo this year, where this could be a big safety concern for its guests.

This is not the environment that Vancouver Fan Expo should be creating for their fans, attendees and their other guests who have committed to attending Vancouver Fan Expo. For these reasons I am asking people to please sign this petition to remove Gina Carano as a guest at Vancouver Fan Expo 2024, and to not have her return as a guest.