Fan Expo and Gina Carano at 'IT' Again

This totally feels like deja vu from two years ago when Fan Expo refused to listen to the geek community and not even follow their own rules about conduct to bring Gina Carano to their cons. They are doing it again and the 'Rebel Alliance' is once again trying to fight the evil Empire to make the con inclusive for everyone. It is so sadly funny how the Star Wars storyline really does match this situation. The Empire in this case is a massive corporation that buys up smaller cons like how the Empire took over planet after planet, warping and twisting geek fandom into their sick money making machine. The current Rebel Alliance is being led by activist fans that are try to keep cons an inclusive place where fans feel safe.

Just like how Star Wars has had different chapters and branches over the years, so goes the fight against Fan Expo. Back in 2022 I was Queen Amidala as Fan Expo started to raise it's imperialist ways. When I was volunteering for them I was much like Amidala supporting the rise of Senator Palptine and then quickly regretted it when they showed their true colors. Like Amidala I even received threats of violence for me trying to stand up to the evil forces from supporters of Gina. Now that people are becoming more and more aware of what the Fan Expo corporation really is, it is getting harder and harder for them to hide. Now the Leia that has risen to fight them this year is Sarah Fox. Her current petition you can find at https://www.change.org/p/urge-vancouver-fan-expo-to-remove-gina-carano-from-the-2024-guest-line-up/u/32247050 . Please go there to support the cause. I know that the fight for Sarah will not be easy and there will be times where she may even question her own voice, but what she is doing is right.

If you are not familiar over the resistance movement you can check out Geeked Colorado's Articles on it from 2022 and our YouTube video. I will have links to them in the bottom of this post under resources.

This is where I make my call again to everyone. If you are a celebrity do not agree to do and Fan Expo/Mega Con appearances until they change their practices. So far the only celebrity to stand up to Fan Expo is Ian Booth (comics artist). 

If you are one of their partners, and yes that does also include you Pop Culture Classroom, do not partner with them. By you supporting them you are supporting their hateful practices. I am calling for fans at all cons this season to show your support of inclusive cons by wearing Rebel gear or the 'good guys' costumes/apparel. Let's make the Rebel gear what it was meant to be for. The fight against the dark side and the Empire.

Below are the posts I found on Fan Expo's page for this con. They didn't learn from past year's to block comments and they are letting the hate run rampant. They don't even try to follow their own policies about trying to stop harassment. All below pictures are from the Fan Expo post announcing Gina.

Harassment that Fan Expo is not addressing:

Other Comments:

At least some people are able to give her more credit then she should get. I do wonder what happened to her to make her so hate full and to make her what she has become.

This is in relation to her work ethic since she has been canceling out on appearances and hurting the fans she does have.

Fan Expo not listen to the larger con going fans:

Fan Expo is not only not listening to the people in the communities she has attacked, but they are also not listening to the fans that support those communities.

People not being aware of the issues and what these celebrities are really doing: 

Here's one that won't also admit that JK did anything wrong even though JK has given money to hate groups and has openly said that she thinks that her royalty checks shows how fans support her hateful ways. Picture from: https://www.facebook.com/FanExpoVan

Resources

YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyj-d4vylKw&list=PLypLxfkDursvf7IJxEHPxNFFzuBChyAcc&index=6&t=8s

Blogger Articles:

https://geekedcolorado.blogspot.com/2022/04/gina-carano-at-it-again.html

https://geekedcolorado.blogspot.com/2022/04/a-dive-into-gina-caranos-posts.html

https://geekedcolorado.blogspot.com/2022/04/protesting-gina-carano-updates.html

Articles for Reference

1/12/24: "'Slap in the face': Ex-Mandalorian star's invite to FAN EXPO prompts backlash"- This is not the first time where I have seen fans say that inviting her is a slap in the face. I've even seen posts where fans have said that if you care about any of the values that Star Wars represents then you can't support her for what she has done. https://globalnews.ca/news/10223599/fan-expo-vancouver-gina-carano-invite-backlash-cosplay/ "Ex-Mandalorian star prompts Fan Expo Vancouver boycott"- https://globalnews.ca/video/10223797/mandalorian-star-prompts-fan-expo-vancouver-boycott

1/13/24: "Vancouver Fan Expo receives backlash for inviting women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano"- This article at the end wondered if Fan Expo will let people know how it went. There are several issues with this. First, Fan Expo can not be trusted and will try to hide anything that will make it look bad. This also doesn't take into account a lot of the people that would be bullied probably won't go so they won't have as many people to pick on. This is what we saw in Denver and Mega Con in Flordia saw in 2022, people just did not go because they did not feel safe. https://www.sportskeeda.com/mma/news-vancouver-fan-expo-receives-backlash-inviting-women-s-mma-pioneer-gina-carano

1/18/24: "Despite petition, former Mandalorian actor Gina Carano still set to appear at Vancouver Fan Expo"- https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/celebrity/despite-petition-gina-carano-still-set-to-appear-at-vancouver-fan-expo

Fan Expo's Facebook page for this con is: https://www.facebook.com/FanExpoVan

2/7/24 Update:

So I just stumbled upon these two articles that show that Gina Carano is now suing Disney...with the help of Elon....you could not come up with a plot this twisted. I don't think she knows that Disney is based out of California and they are an at will state. This means that they can terminate any one's employment for any reason. This is just a publicity stunt and I hope Tesla sales are impacted by this as well since he is showing his true colors. Also Disney if you see this post I would love to be a witness for you on how much of a negative impact both her and her fans have had on the larger geek community.

"Gina Carano sues Disney, seeking her Mandalorian role back in lawsuit funded by Elon Musk"- https://ew.com/gina-carano-sues-disney-seeking-mandalorian-role-back-8559747

"Ex-Star Wars actor Gina Carano wants to force Lucasfilm to give her job back using Elon Musk's money, praises Twitter as 'one of the last glimmers of hop for free speech in the world'"- https://www.pcgamer.com/ex-star-wars-actor-gina-carano-wants-courts-to-force-lucasfilm-to-give-her-job-back-using-elon-musks-money-praises-twitter-as-one-of-the-last-glimmers-of-hope-for-free-speech-in-the-world/?fbclid=IwAR25d4aMpIO8u6TgCzPLYdqNOg_6Rs7UGE2_gajlLrMuoBCX6tbquxTbEqM

Picture 1 From: https://www.change.org/p/urge-vancouver-fan-expo-to-remove-gina-carano-from-the-2024-guest-line-up/u/32247050

Picture 2 From: https://www.change.org/p/urge-vancouver-fan-expo-to-remove-gina-carano-from-the-2024-guest-line-up/u/32247050