Rosario Dawson responds to 'Mandalorian' fans over anti-trans lawsuit controversy

Watch: Rosario Dawson makes her Star Wars debut

New The Mandalorian cast-member Rosario Dawson has said that her 'record is clear' in support of the LGBTQ community, after fans of the series showed concern over her casting.

Dawson and members of her family have been involved in a lawsuit alleging a transphobic harassment and assault filed in 2019.

The lawsuit seeks damages for battery, assault, emotional distress, among other allegations, but in an interview with Dawson, she's pointed out that many of the allegations have now been 'withdrawn voluntarily without settlement'.

Dawson, who has joined the show's second season as Jedi and fan favourite Ahsoka Tano, told Vanity Fair that the family has known their accuser since he was a teenager, and that despite the accusations, she still has 'great empathy for him'.

“Well, firstly, I just want to say I understand… why people were concerned, and are concerned. I would be, too, if I heard some of those claims,” she said.

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“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. But I still have a great empathy for him.”

She added: “The reason that all of the discrimination claims were dropped is because they didn’t happen. I was raised in a very inclusive and loving way, and that’s how I’ve lived my entire life. 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.”

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The show has also recently attracted scrutiny with another of its casting choices – former MMA star Gina Carano.

The hashtag #FireGinaCarano began circulating on Twitter following the US presidential election, after Carano, who plays Cara Dune in the series, began questioning the legitimacy of the voting, a conspiracy theory that has been peddled by the outgoing president and some Republican leaders.

She also mocked mask wearing amid the global pandemic, as infections and death rates in the US reached record highs earlier this month.