[autotag]Gina Carano[/autotag] has a supporter in UFC president Dana White.
Carano was fired from her starring role in “The Mandalorian” earlier this week after she shared a social media post in which she compared Republicans living in the current American political climate to Jews during the Holocaust.
That created a firestorm on social media and eventually led to Lucasfilm dismissing Carano from “The Mandalorian,” the popular Disney+ show in the “Star Wars” franchise on which she had a recurring key role as Cara Dune for the first two seasons.
On Friday, White voiced his support for Carano when asked about the situation after the UFC 258 weigh-ins and also took a shot at an ESPN personality with whom he’s long feuded.
“Leave Gina alone,” White said. “Listen, we make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For everybody to go in on her – I love how Ariel Helwani made it all about him. It was all about him. Such a douche.”
On Friday, Carano announced she has signed on for a producing and starring role in a new movie project backed by conservative website The Daily Wire. In a statement, she said she’s “sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian mob.”
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In 2011, White released Miguel Torres from the UFC after the then-bantamweight contender tweeted a rape joke deemed offensive by the promotion. White, however, has become more lenient about his fighters’ conduct through the years, and his support of Carano falls in line with that approach.
Last year, Colby Covington made racially charged statements about rival Tyron Woodley and the Black Lives Matter movement, inciting outrage from several Black UFC fighters who condemned Covington for being racist. White, a staunch supporter and good friend of former President Donald Trump, took no action against Covington.
“These guys all have their own causes, things – all their own beliefs,” White said at the time. “We don’t muzzle anybody here. We let everybody speak their mind.”
White and Carano, 38, have some history between them. In November 2018, the women’s MMA pioneer opened up about how White ruined negotiations for a potential fight with Ronda Rousey in the UFC.
Carano last fought in August 2009, when she lost to Cris Cyborg for the inaugural Strikeforce women’s featherweight title in what was the first major MMA event headlined by a women’s bout. The TKO loss remains Carano’s only professional defeat.
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