Gina Carano Returned To Television Last Night, Here’s How People Reacted

Gina Carano made her return to television this week in a reality format and folks rang in with their reactions about the embattled actress.

By Doug Norrie | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

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Since Gina Carano was fired from Disney and effectively canceled in the (very) short term because of some comments she made on social media, folks have been wondering about what would happen with the actress’s career. Would there still be chances for her to show her talents on screen and would other outlets be willing to bring her on in various capacities? We have part of an answer now after Carano appeared on the show Running Wild with Bear Grylls. Her guest spot with the titular host had folks ringing in on Twitter and early reports were fairly positive. 

The episode with Gina Carano on Running Wild with Bear Grylls was actually shot over the winter in January. This was before her final dust-ups with Disney and her eventual ouster from the Star Wars universe. But it wasn’t supposed to air until months later and there was initially the thought that National Geographic, the home station, would decide to just skip it altogether when it came time for this season. Disney+ had pulled it from the rotation and there was the idea that others would follow suit. But that wasn’t the case and the episode aired on Monday. Here were some of the immediate, social media, reactions:

If Twitter can be believed, and sometimes it can, then the Gina Carano episode was a hit among her fans. Under the hashtag #GinaGoneWild, there were a number of folks who rang in in support of the actress and her time on the show. Some even apparently made it appointment television. The episode features Carano and Grylls going to the Dolomite Mountains in Italy and spending time in the elements, eating over the fire, repelling off some cliff faces, and more. It was typical fare for the show, and fans were into it. 

Could the public tide be turning for Gina Carano here? There’s some evidence mounting that the actress might not be canceled forever. National Geographic airing this episode with her featured is one sign that they weren’t all that worried about the public backlash. And this week also saw the aforementioned Disney actually make a beginning push to include Carano in their Emmy Nomination campaigns for her work on The Mandalorian. They are making a bid for her to be included in the “Best Supporting Actress” category. You simply don’t do this if you are worried long term about the effects of cancel culture. 

Of course, all of these questions stem from the firing of Gina Carano from The Mandalorian back in early February. The ouster followed months of controversy around her social media postings regarding the pandemic, US Presidential election, and other hot-button topics. Then a post comparing the treatment of modern-day Republicans to Jews in The Holocaust was the final straw for the studio and they relieved her of her duties as Cara Dune in the Star Wars universe. 

Gina Carano was quickly picked up by the production arm of conservative outlet The Daily Wire where she signed a film deal. It doesn’t have the size and scope of what Disney offers, but there were still deals out there for the actress. Now it looks like there could be more to come. Sure, there were those who rang in with their displeasure about the actress’s recent appearance, but they were fewer and farther between than you’d think. Maybe we see her return to the mix sooner than later.