The Mandalorian star Rosario Dawson addresses dropped transphobia lawsuit allegations from 2019

Rosario Dawson has spoken out about the backlash surrounding her casting in season two of Disney+'s Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.

Criticism focused on allegations of transphobia and discrimination made against Dawson and her family last year.

Dedrek Finley, a family friend of Dawson’s, had last year initiated legal proceedings against Dawson and her family, claiming that their attitude towards him had changed after he came out as transgender, and alleged that he had suffered discrimination, verbal abuse, misgendering, and physical assault.

In August 2020, 18 of the 20 accusations were withdrawn, including the allegations of misgendering and discrimination, and the final two claims are levelled against Dawson’s mother, rather than herself.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Dawson, who came out as LGBTQ+ earlier this year, denied the claims and reiterated her support for the queer community.

“Well, firstly, I just want to say I understand that, and why people were concerned, and are concerned. I would be too if I heard some of those claims,” she said. “But I mean, as we’re seeing right now in these past months, and just recently, actually, the truth is coming out.

“Every single claim of discrimination has been dismissed by the person who made them, and as you’ve said, the fact that this is coming from someone I’ve known since I was a teenager, the better part of my life, and who my family was trying to help as we have many times in the past, it really just makes me sad.”

Dawson appeared in the most recent episode of The Mandalorian as Jedi Ahsoka Tano, a character first voiced by Ashley Eckstein in the Clone Wars animated series.

The Sin City star said that she had a “great empathy” for Finley, though she added: “The reason that all of the discrimination claims were dropped is because they didn’t happen.

“I’ve always used my voice to fight for, lift up, and empower the LGBTQA community, and use my platform to channel trans voices, in fiction and nonfiction work that I’ve produced and directed. So I feel the record is really clear.”

Gina Carano, the actor who has portrayed Cara Dune in several episodes of The Mandalorian, faced calls for removal from some Star Wars fans, following social media posts which appeared to “mock” transgender people.

Carano also faced renewed criticism after sharing anti-mask memes on Twitter and writing in apparent support of Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated voter fraud conspiracy theory.

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