KISS Decry ‘Cancel Culture’ When Asked About ‘Mandalorian’ Star Gina Carano
KISS figureheads Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley spoke out against "cancel culture" during a recent Q&A.
Specifically, the pair addressed the fate of Gina Carano, the actress ousted from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian earlier this year after she made controversial posts on social media.
The idea of "cancel culture" — the practice of "withdrawing support for public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive," per Dictionary.com — has been gaining steam for several years. Over the last couple, though, it has steadily become a catch-all term for conservatives, who usually wield it in response to public reaction to politically incorrect behavior.
Simmons and Stanley offered their thoughts on Carano and the consequences she faced when the actress was brought up during a KISS fan event in Texas on Sept. 29.
Calling The Mandalorian "one of the best shows on TV," Simmons said about Carano, "They should have kept the chick, even though she had different political [views]. It's not about politics; it's about whether you're a good actress." [via Blabbermouth]
Stanley added, "Look, political views — this whole cancel culture is so dangerous, the idea that people can't speak their mind. That's what freedom is all about. And to lose your job because you've got something to say, even if I find it offensive — I've gotta live with that."
He further quipped, "Plus, she can kick my ass."
Carano, the Trump supporter and former MMA fighter who played Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, faced widespread backlash in February when she compared being a modern Republican to living as a Jew during the Holocaust, as The Washington Post reported. The Instagram post containing the message, appended to a photo of a Jewish woman being beaten in Nazi Germany, is what cost the actress her Star Wars gig.
"Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future," the show's Disney-owned production company quickly responded. "Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable."
In her post, Carano wrote, "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?”
Last week, KISS unveiled a previously unheard acoustic version of their classic song "Beth." The band's ongoing End of the Road tour should conclude next year.