In the court of public opinion, there are usually no character witnesses but Bill Burr can vouch for Gina Carano.
On his podcast, last week, the comedian and actor defended his former The Mandalorian co-star Gina Carano. Along with his fellow co-host Bert Kreischer and guest, comedian Joe DeRosa, Burr discussed the ridiculousness surrounding Disney+ firing Carano and his ongoing disdain for cancel culture.
When asked if Carano ever pushed her conservative beliefs on set, Burr affirmed her character. “No! She was an absolute sweetheart. … Super-nice f***ing person," he said.
DeRosa chimed in saying “I was saying it the other day about Gina Carano. It’s like, look, you can say that her tweet was stupid or clumsy or whatever. But the reaction to it, to me, was so crazy." He further explained, “[w]hether you agree, disagree, whatever, I just don't get this place we're in where there's no place for discussion about anything."
DeRosa even pointed out that Hasbro, a toy company that works with Disney, went so far as to cancel the action figure of Carano’s Mandalorian character. “That's how deep cancel culture is. They canceled her action figure. It's like, let the action figure come out!"
Burr himself suggested that he might be next on the Disney chopping block. “I’m on that f***ing show. Now I gotta watch what the f*** I say” he said. “And somehow someone will take this video and they'll f***ing make me say something else, and you know, try to get rid of my bald action figure!"
Although Burr does not publicly affiliate himself with either political party, he has openly spoken out against cancel culture and petty Hollywood representation squabbles. In a Netflix comedy special, “Paper Tiger,” he said it was “exciting” to do a stand-up show in London because Americans are increasingly “triggered” by jokes that mock anyone or anything (ie. most comedy that’s actually funny). He also pointed out how hilarious it is that actors are not allowed to act anymore citing the pushback Bryan Cranston received for being an able-bodied man playing a quadriplegic in The Upside.
More than likely Disney couldn’t pull off another The Mandalorian firing any time soon. If they did fans would have a fit. But in the case of Gina Carano, they watched and waited for an opportunity to pick her off the team. For now, we can only hope Disney has better things to do than pick fights with sane freedom-loving actors.
