Star Wars’ Rosario Dawson denies being transphobic after being accused of abuse by family friend
Rosario Dawson at the 2020 NBC Universal Winter Press Tour (Tommaso Boddi/WireImage)
Star Wars actor Rosario Dawson has addressed the backlash to her casting in The Mandalorian by steadfastly denying all accusations of transphobia levelled against her.
Dawson recently joined the second season of the Disney+ show as Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi Padawan who trained alongside Anakin Skywalker.
But her arrival in the the Star Wars universe was met with some concern in the fandom over claims she and her family subjected a former employee to transphobic abuse, harassment and assault.
Asked by Vanity Fair what she would say to fans who fear she is anti-trans, Dawson sought to put the rumours to rest.
“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.
“But I still have a great empathy for him,” she added.
Dawson’s accuser voluntarily withdrew 18 of the 20 claims against the family without a settlement, and his lawyer left the case. Only two counts remain, both of which involve an alleged physical altercation between the family friend and Dawson’s mother.
A Los Angeles county superior court will decide next month whether there is enough evidence pertaining to the last two counts to move forward with the case.
The reason so many of the claims were dropped, Rosario Dawson says, is simply “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,” the actor said, having come out as LGBT+ herself earlier this year.
“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.”
The Mandalorian is streaming now on Disney+, with new episodes airing weekly.
