Vancouver Fan Expo receives backlash for inviting women's MMA pioneer Gina Carano

It appears as though Gina Carano is still a polarizing figure as the Vancouver Fan Expo recently received plenty of backlash after announcing that she'd be appearing at the event.

Vancouver Fan Expo is an annual convention that brings together a number of comic book characters and film and television stars under one roof for special meet and greets with their fans. The women's MMA pioneer had made a number of controversial tweets related to her political beliefs in recent years, which resulted in her agency cutting ties with her as well as her firing from Disney and LucasFilm.

Carano appeared on 'The Mandalorian' and 'Deadpool', which explains why she was invited to the Fan Expo. While speaking to Canadian outlet Global News, voice actor Lana Redlich mentioned that the former MMA star being invited was in poor taste, especially considering the controversial tweets she has shared on her X account. She said:

"It felt like an enormous slap in the face to like everything the convention really should be standing for, considering they should know who is their target audience." [h/t Global News]

Tweet regarding Carano appearing at Vancouver Fan Expo [Image courtesy: @GlobalBC - X]

It will be interesting to see what the turnout will be like for Carano's meet and greet as she will likely draw in MMA fans because of her impact on the sport as well as fans of her film and television work.

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How did Vancouver Fan Expo respond to backlash from Gina Carano appearing?

The Vancouver Fan Expo recently addressed the addition of Gina Carano as well as the criticism that followed.

In the aforementioned report, it appears as though the former Strikeforce star is still set to appear next month as the convention's organizers released a statement that indicated there is no cause for concern and everybody will be following the same protocols for the convention. They wrote:

"We can assure fans that while at the show, every participant [including special guests] will be expected to uphold the same code of conduct to create a safe environment for everyone to celebrate the fandoms that unite us." [h/t Global News]

It will be interesting to see the convention's response and whether Carano's participation in Vancouver run smoothly.

Tweet announcing Carano's meet and greet [Image courtesy: @FANEXPOVAN - X]