“Star Wars” star Daisy Ridley recently clapped back at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who previously did not acknowledge Ridley’s character Rey as a hero of the “Star Wars” saga.
What happened
It all began with a tweet. Cruz — in response to Gina Carano’s exit from “The Mandalorian” — praised Carano for her time as heroine Cara Dune.
- “Texan Gina Carano broke barriers in the Star Wars universe: not a princess, not a victim, not some emotionally tortured Jedi. She played a woman who kicked [expletive] & who girls looked up to. She was instrumental in making Star Wars fun again. Of course Disney canceled her.”
“Star Wars” fans pointed out on social media that the franchise has often celebrated women and heroines, including Carrie Fischer as General Leia Organa and Daisy Ridley as Rey, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.
Ridley responds
In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Ridley responded to Cruz’s tweet. She referenced Cruz’s recent controversy where he reportedly left Texas to visit Cancun as Texas dealt with a major winter weather crisis.
- Cruz returned to Texas, saying the trip was last-minute and something he did to help his daughters, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
Ridley still wasn't having it, though.
- “I did not know, and I am very happy to be an emotionally tortured Jedi who doesn’t leave their state when it’s having a terrible time,” she said in response to Cruz’s tweet.
Ridley’s future?
There’s a chance Ridley could return to “Star Wars” for future projects. She said in the April 2021 issue of Empire magazine that she’d be open to a return, according to GameSpot.
- “I mean, never say never,” she said.