Saturday Night Live got in on the Gina Carano controversy this weekend, taking aim at the former star of The Mandalorian‘s firing from Lucasfilm in the show’s cold open. Best known for playing Cara Dune on the Star Wars series, Carano was let go earlier this month from her role on the series following months of controversial social media posts. A statement released by Lucasfilm at the time labeled Carano’s online behavior as “abhorrent.”
Given how much attention has been on the Carano controversy lately, it was just a matter of time before the story made its way to Saturday Night Live. The newest episode, hosted by Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page, began with a cold open presented in the format of a new talk show launched by Britney Spears. The concept of the fictional show, dubbed “Oops You Did It Again,” is for celebrities to publicly apologize for things they’ve done wrong.
During the skit, Cecily Strong is introduced as Gina Carano to speak about her firing from The Mandalorian. In real life, Carano has not apologized for her posts and insists that she was “bullied” by Lucasfilm, arguing that she was really let go simply for her conservative views. With Strong doing her best Gina impression, Carano doubles down with this viewpoint in the SNL sketch, refusing to see why her social media posts were offensive.
“I’m here for the opposite [of apologizing], I’ve done nothing wrong,” Strong’s Carano says, asking for someone to explain to her what she did that was so bad. After Britney points out the recent post from Carano comparing conservatives to people living in Nazy Germany, Carano laments how she “never would have made that Nazi comparison if I had known everyone was gonna be such a Nazi about it.”
Decrying cancel culture, Gina Carano adds: “And I was canceled by Disney? Disney is the moral high ground? Have you heard Br’er Rabbit’s accent on the Splash Mountain ride recently?”
The SNL segment also poked fun at Ted Cruz with Aidy Bryant portraying the Texas Senator on his way home from Cancun, complete with cornrows and a margarita in hand. Cruz had been heavily criticized for leaving the state during a power crisis that has left millions of Texans without power or water. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson) also appeared in the skit alongside Cruz to address recent controversy over his administration withholding the state’s nursing home death toll during the pandemic.
Carano might be gone from The Mandalorian, but she isn’t going away. The actress and MMA star has already lined up her next project, teaming up with Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire to develop, write, and star in her own upcoming movie. No details have yet been revealed about the project beyond Carano’s involvement, but she will have the freedom to essentially do whatever she wants. She will also speak at length about her firing along with the aftermath in a new interview for Shapiro’s show to be released on Sunday. The cold open video comes to us from Saturday Night Live on YouTube.