Transgender Abuse Case Against 'Star Wars' Actress Rosario Dawson Dismissed - Inside the Magic

In 2019, actress Rosario Dawson (Rent, Eagle Eye, Unstoppable) and her family faced allegations of abusing a transgender man, Derek Finley. Finley lived on the family’s property and worked for them as a handyman.

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Dawson, who is in a long-term relationship with United States Senator Cory Booker (D – New Jersey), faced significant online backlash following the allegations, which resulted in a civil lawsuit.

Some Star Wars fans even called for fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano to be recast in The Mandalorian saga on Disney+.

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Now, Dawson’s legal battle has been resolved and the actress has been cleared of all civil charges and the case has been dismissed — keep in mind that this was never a criminal court case. Dawson posted the following statement on Twitter:

My family is pleased that this baseless suit is over. While the vast majority of the false claims had been voluntarily withdrawn last year-including every single false claim of discrimination-the court has now terminated the remainder of the case allowing us all to move forward.

That these false claims came from someone we’ve known as chosen family for decades and who we were trying so hard to help out, as we have many times in the past, was very heartbreaking. Nevertheless, we have great empathy for him and have only ever wished him well.

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My family is pleased that this baseless suit is over. While the vast majority of the false claims had been voluntarily withdrawn last year-including every single false claim of discrimination-the court has now terminated the remainder of the case allowing us all to move forward. https://t.co/mtru9yceCk

— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) May 27, 2021

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The actress’s boyfriend Cory Booker has not spoken out regarding the situation.

Now that the lawsuit is over, Dawson can fully focus on her future in the Star Wars franchise. The actress made Tano’s live-action debut last year in The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”).

Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan was originally voiced by Ashley Eckstein in Dave Filoni and George Lucas’s animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and some fans were initially skeptical of Dawson’s casting, but almost immediately came around after her initial encounter with bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his foundling, Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”).

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In fact, the reception to the fan-favorite character’s live-action appearance was so popular that Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau and executive producer Filoni are giving her a spinoff series, simply titled Ahsoka. Although the timeline for the series has not been confirmed, it will run concurrently with The Mandalorian Season 3 and is expected to be a sequel, of sorts, to Star Wars Rebels.

The show is expected to introduce Star Wars Rebels villain Grand Admiral Thrawn and Tano’s fellow Jedi Ezra Bridger into the live-action Star Wars universe for the first time.

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There is also a chance that Thrawn’s Star Wars Legends cohort, Emperor’s Hand assassin Mara Jade — who later becomes Luke Skywalker’s wife — could appear, though this has not been confirmed.

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Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that Dawson’s role in the Star Wars galaxy is only beginning to take shape.

Do you agree with the abuse case against Rosario Dawson and her family being dismissed?