Daisy Ridley didn’t hesitate to fire back at Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
Earlier this month, the Texas lawmaker shared a tweet in defense of Gina Carano, the conservative actress who was recently fired from The Mandalorian over her controversial social media posts. Cruz slammed Disney for their decision, arguing Carano’s Cara Dune was a strong role model for young girls, unlike the other female characters within the Star Wars franchise.
“Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe: not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi,” he said. “She played a woman who kicked ass & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again. Of course Disney canceled her.”
The “emotionally tortured Jedi” description was, of course, a reference to Ridley’s Rey character, whom she portrayed in three Star Wars films. The actress was asked about Cruz’s comments during an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment this week, and gave a simple, yet stinging response.
“I am very happy to be an emotionally tortured Jedi,” Ridley said. “Who doesn’t leave their state when it’s having a terrible time.”
The jab was a reference to Cruz’s recent trip to Cancun, Mexico, which he took in the midst of Texas’ weather disaster. The Lone Star State was hit by a deadly winter storm this month, which left millions of people without necessities like water, electricity, and, in some cases, food.
The senator returned to Texas shortly after the public began calling for his resignation. He claimed he was simply trying to be a “good dad” by joining his family on a getaway, but went on to admit that he never should’ve left in the first place.
“I didn’t want all the screaming and yelling about this trip to distract even one moment from the real issues that I think Texans care about, which is keeping all of our families safe,” Cruz told reporters. “It was obviously a mistake, and in hindsight, I wouldn’t have done it.”
