Why Didn’t Pedro Pascal Stand Up for Gina Carano?

Audiences have two reasons to be sick of Pedro Pascal.

He’s everywhere these days, which can lead to overexposure or viewer exhaustion. It’s one reason why moviegoers can’t get enough of Denzel Washington. The Oscar winner is a sublime talent, of course, but he generally makes one movie a year.

Pascal stars in four films this year alone, plus his work on HBO’s “The Last of Us.”

The other reason? Pascal won’t stop speaking divisively on controversial subjects. Trans rights. President Donald Trump. J.K. Rowling.

Pedro Pascal has spoken out against J.K. Rowling, commenting on a video by writer and activist Tariq Raouf, who refers to Rowling’s efforts to help the U.K. Supreme Court define women in a way that works against trans women as “Voldemort villain s—.”

“Awful disgusting S— is… pic.twitter.com/pzrG79JQVJ

— Variety (@Variety) April 24, 2025

Pascal wades right in, using less than diplomatic language along the way. That’s his right, of course, but it can alienate audiences. 

The talented actor likely thinks it’s worth the risk. Again, that’s his choice.

So why was he missing in action when Gina Carano got fired by Disney? The Mouse House dismissed Carano in 2021 from “The Mandalorian” after she made a plea for tolerance tied to Nazi Germany. The post in question, which she deleted, was part of a pattern of views that didn’t align with the woke company.

“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?”

So Disney canned her.

Enter Elon Musk, who helped fund Carano’s wrongful termination suit against Disney. The two parties just settled, with the suggestion that Carano could appear in a future Disney film. The settlement also found Disney defending Carano’s work ethic on “The Mandalorian” set.

“Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect.”

Those views were echoed by Bill Burr, who briefly worked with the actress on the series. He called her an “absolute sweetheart” on the show’s set.

Burr shared those views in public, but months after Disney fired Carano. The damage was already done.

That’s better than what Pascal has said then, and now about her dismissal. He has yet to publicly back Carano or suggest the firing wasn’t justified.

Carano has said she has a strong relationship with Pascal behind the scenes. 

“Me and Pedro were so close,” she says. “He knows 1,000 percent I’m not homophobic or transphobic. He texted me after Carl Weathers” — another star of The Mandalorian — “passed away. We had our conversation and it was beautiful. One thing he did say was, ‘Thank you. You and Carl Weathers have always been protectors.’ And he knows what that means, and I know what that means, and I wish I could tell why. We basically left it at ‘I can’t wait to give you a big hug.’ ”

Wonderful.

So why didn’t he defend Carano when it counted? Perhaps if the star of Disney+’s biggest hit to date had her back, it could have changed Disney’s mind?

Or, his support might have signaled to other Hollywood studios that Carano shouldn’t be shunned.

Instead, he said nothing … publicly. And Carano hasn’t worked within Hollywood since her dismissal.

Pascal even backed disgraced “Snow White” star Rachel Zegler on social media, labeling her an “icon” earlier this year at the height of her public struggles.

Pascal has no qualms speaking his mind, defending family members and sharing his two cents with the world. He even defended an actress with whom he never worked directly with on a film or TV project.

Yet he couldn’t defend Carano when it counted.

Perhaps he failed to do so out of a sense of survival. Pascal has made incendiary social media posts over the years, including comparing Trump supporters to Nazis. Maybe he feared Disney might can him next, following Carano’s dismissal?