Ted Cruz Is Defending Gina Carano, Of Course, While Taking A Swing At Princess Leia (And Getting Owned For It)

As the far right threatens to boycott Disney+ following Lucasfilm’s decision to fire Gina Carano for an increasingly aggressive series of anti-Semitic, transphobic, and anti-mask social media posts, Ted Cruz has predictably entered the fray by tweeting out an odd defense of Carano’s The Mandalorian character. In a strangely worded statement that seemingly trashes Carrie Fisher‘s iconic and truly groundbreaking role as Princess Leia, Cruz praises Carano for “making Star Wars fun again” and for being a role model to young girls.

“Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe,” Cruz tweeted. “Not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi. She played a woman who kicked ass & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again. Of course Disney canceled her.”

Almost immediately, Star Wars fans were quick to blast Cruz for his “not a princess, not a victim” line by pointing out that Fisher’s Leia is an absolute badass, and one of the greatest strong female characters in cinematic history.

— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) February 11, 2021

In the second scene Princess Leia appears in in the series, she dunks on Darth Vader to his face. Imagine thinking Gina Carano's character was better. https://t.co/eF4x5bMrAu

— Chris Paul Towers (@CTowersCBS) February 11, 2021

The Gina Carano issue aside, Carrie Fisher never played a victim — and she kicked ass. https://t.co/rm3p3Hsrhz

— Bill Kuchman (@billkuchman) February 11, 2021

Carrie fisher and Natalie Portman would beat your fucking ass https://t.co/wIIAJJhpdi

— colt2822 (@colt2822) February 11, 2021

I speak for us all on this one. https://t.co/lEUNZPdaYV pic.twitter.com/6R4EA9Ikuo

— Jinxe (@jinxeptor) February 11, 2021

It also didn’t take long for Star Wars fans to chime in with even more examples of complex and beloved female characters that predate Carano’s Cara Dune, and whose inspiration can be traced back to Leia.