Rosario Dawson made her debut as Ahsoka Tano on Friday’s episode of “The Mandalorian,” but the buzz surrounding the star was focused less on the Disney+ series and more on allegations of transphobia lodged against her.
In an interview with Vanity Fair published Monday, Dawson, 41, responded to questions about a lawsuit filed against her last year, in which a longtime family friend accuses her and her family of “anti-trans bias,” the outlet reports.
“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. 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,” Dawson commented.
When pressed about two remaining claims alleging a physical altercation, Dawson remained steadfast in denying the allegations.
“The reason that all of the discrimination claims were dropped is because they didn’t happen,” she said. “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.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Dawson’s rep and Disney+.
Some fans of the show reacted via social media.
“As a trans man I’m honestly so defeated over the Rosario Dawson situation like people just don’t care about us and its not going to change anytime soon,” user @gatorbol tweeted.
“As much as I loved seeing Ahsoka in live-action for the first time, it sucks that Trans fans have to be discouraged that Rosario Dawson very well could be a Transphobe. Lucasfilm should be more socially conscious about casting actors in the (midst) of serious allegations,” user @Mazz1599 said.
“As a fan of Ahsoka I’m thrilled that she was done well, God I wished the ending gave us more… However… Rosario Dawson, while she did a great job, should handle that physical assault case against a trans man before she does more work, right StarWars and Marvel? So yeah,” user @Ahsokaisawesome said.
“I don’t want to see anyone defending her as a person… this is coming from a trans guy who loves the character and hates her. So I am trying to deal as best I can, and I did genuinely enjoy the episode, which was aided by (director Dave) Filoni’s passion and the production team,” user @@mandobiwan said.
“I was honestly disappointed by the lack of attention the allegations were getting. Like, love Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka. Sure. But don’t do it while ignoring the pain she has caused the trans community. Trans people deserve better,” user @sarina_reads said.
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