Daisy Ridley reveals her initial 'heart-pounding' reaction to Twitter spat with Ted Cruz

If it's not directed, it isn't respected – unless you're Daisy Ridley clapping back at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

The "Star Wars" actress found herself in a Twitter tiff after Cruz subtweeted Ridley Feb. 11, calling her an "emotionally tortured Jedi" after he defended "The Mandalorian" actress Gina Carano, who lost her role on the popular Disney+ series following her controversial social media posts.

"I responded to it and I couldn't remember what I said, because you know you have that heart-pounding thing of like, 'Oh my god, why has he said something about me,' " Ridley said Wednesday on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

Cruz's name-calling was brought to Ridley's attention during a February interview with Yahoo Entertainment. "I am very happy to be an emotionally tortured Jedi who doesn’t leave their state when it’s having a terrible time," Ridley told the outlet, referring to the recent controversy of Cruz flying to Mexico as his state of Texas weathered the aftermath of a deadly winter storm.

More: Sen. Ted Cruz calls Mexico trip amid Texas winter crisis and power outages 'a mistake'

The actress told Kimmel she was initially worried about her clapback to Cruz after the Yahoo interview.

"I was like, 'I said something about American politics and people hate when actors talk about politics,' " Ridley said. "I was like 'Oh my God what have I done?' "

Despite her concern, she recalled receiving supportive tests from her colleagues and other friends taking her side in the internet battle.

"I get a text from (director) J.J. (Abrams), a text from Josh Gad and an email from Lynn who is head of marketing,' " she said.

Carano received backlash online earlier this year for sharing a series of incendiary social media posts and memes mentioning Jeffrey Epstein and comparing conservatives in the U.S. to Holocaust victims. Lucasfilm later confirmed to USA TODAY that Carano would no longer star in "The Mandalorian."

In a statement on Feb. 11, Lucasfilm said it didn't currently employ Carano and there were no plans for her to be in future episodes of "The Mandalorian." Lucasfilm simultaneously denounced Carano's posts as denigrating people's cultural and religious identities, calling them abhorrent and unacceptable.

More: Daisy Ridley fires back at Ted Cruz after he defends Gina Carano over 'Mandalorian' firing

Contributing: Cydney Henderson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Star Wars' star Daisy Ridley reflects on Ted Cruz Twitter spat