News Site Claims Attendees Feel “Unsafe” Over Gina Carano Fan Expo Appearance
The Vancouver Fan Expo, a fan convention held annually in Canada, will take place from February 17-19 and will feature a slew of celebrity guests. Among those guests will be Gina Carano, former MMA fighter and star of The Mandalorian and current collaborator with The Daily Wire on some of their film endeavors – and by all accounts (and not just those of our community), a very nice person. Predictably, this is sticking in the craw of those who disagree with her about politics and social issues, and Canadian news outlet Global News has spoken to people who are worried about Carano’s appearance at the Vancouver Fan Expo… two of them.
First is Lana Redlich, a “cosplayer and voice actor.” (It’s always funny when the mainstream outlets have to explain something like cosplay to their readers, who likely don’t attend fan conventions.) She had this to say:
“I find it’s, like, a very great time to, like, connect with your local cosplay community… It felt like an enormous slap in the face to like everything the convention really should be standing for, considering they should know who is their target audience… Being young people, queer people, LGBT people, you know, people of colour, people from all walks of life that are so diverse that it feels like it’s just a completely goes against, you know, everything that they should be standing for.”
I swear, that’s all real; I made sure to check and see if this was one of those realistic-looking parody websites, but it’s not. Fifty percent of Global News’ first-hand accounting that Gina Carano is making people at the Expo feel unsafe is, like, this person. She desperately wants it to be an inclusive, welcoming experience, and the only way to do that is to ban everyone she doesn’t like. I feel her pain.
The next half of the fear and outrage comes from Amy Dala, an “[a]rtist and Vancouver cosplayer” described as “concerned” about Carano’s appearance…
“So for me … events like this, these kind of conventions are a place for us to come together with like-minded people who share similar interests, similar fandoms… It’s an opportunity for us to showcase our art and our love for certain fandoms, and really connect with other people who have shared interests… I felt conflicted because this is an event I’ve been to in the past that I enjoyed, and I felt so welcome and safe… And my disappointment was like one of the few safe spaces that we have no longer feel safe.”
At least she’s more honest, albeit inadvertently; she seems to believe the Vancouver Fan Expo is only for “like-minded people.” Sure, she follows it up by saying she means people who “share similar interests,” but at a convention like this, typically, one of those interests is Star Wars. “Like-minded” means something else to these people: only those with the correct social and political opinions are welcome. Fandom is only for some people nowadays; she should ask Disney how that attitude is working out for them.
She also suggests a remedy for her fear that eager attendees may not come because a person they disagree with is in the building:
“I would love to see what their plan is to create that level of safety… I think that would be really helpful for participants to really know. You say it’s safe, but what does that actually look like?”
It looks like skipping panels with people you don’t like and attending the ones you do, like every convention on Earth. I’ve been to the New York Comic-Con; they have plenty of stuff on display that doesn’t appeal to me. I skip it and move on; there’s no need for anyone to be banned. I recognize that having no interest in anime or Harry Potter is different from disagreeing with a person’s politics – somehow – but tying knots works for ropes and shoelaces in equal measure, so maybe give it a try. I know you’ll probably get the shakes passing Gina Carano’s photo booth because you’re a poorly adjusted paranoiac, but you’ll feel better once you’re in the Sailor Moon section or whatever you’re into.
Aside from these two cosplayers, the video above the article shows a petition to dis-invite Gina Carano from the Vancouver Fan Expo on change.org, which has (as of the video) 696 signatures. The Expo’s tweet about Carano’s appearance also has some comments from people saying they will boycott the event. To keep that in perspective, the tweet has 415 likes compared to 179 comments, not all of which are negative. Even still, Global News only interviewed two people who were pissy about it.
Whether you know her from The Mandalorian or Deadpool, you won't want to miss meeting the fearless Gina Carano at FAN EXPO Vancouver next month. Get your tickets today: https://t.co/Qv9TL3NOlI pic.twitter.com/ICZuSPYTqm
— FAN EXPO Vancouver (@FANEXPOVAN) January 9, 2024
Of course, a large portion of the Global News piece is dedicated to recounting Gina Carano’s many sins, including her suggestion via re-post that the Holocaust was a bad thing that shouldn’t happen again and that people who demand you list your pronouns are weird and pushy. The sky fell that day, as I recall. In other words, this was just another Gina Carano hit piece, talking to two oddballs (which indicates they were the only two Global News could find who had a problem with Carano’s appearance) to convince people who don’t know what cosplay is to be outraged over a convention they probably don’t know is happening. Based on a statement from the organizers of the Vancouver Fan Expo, it’s not going to work:
“We can assure fans that while at the show, every participant (including special guests) will be expected to uphold the same code of conduct to create a safe environment for everyone to celebrate the fandoms that unite us.”
Something tells me Ms. Carano’s fans aren’t the ones they’re worried about.
You can get tickets to the Vancouver Fan Expo here, and you can see the very impressive guest list here. If you’re attending, you can see Gina Carano on Monday, February 19.
