One of the most amazing things about the original Star Wars trilogy was that it featured Leia. She was tough, fierce, smart, and she held her own in battle with the guys.
As a kid, having a Leia doll was rad. But today, two somewhat depressing items have emerged regarding the female lead for Star Wars.
Carrie Fisher revealed to British Good Housekeeping that things haven’t changed that much in Hollywood since her first go round, when she was asked to go from about 105 pounds to 95 — 95! — to play Leia.
Fisher was asked to drop 35 pounds to reprise her role as Leia, now referred to as General Organa, in The Force Awakens.
“They don’t want to hire all of me — only about three-quarters!” Fisher told GH. “Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing. I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is.”
She adds in the interview: “We treat beauty like an accomplishment and that is insane. Everyone in LA says, ‘Oh you look good,’ and you listen for them to say you’ve lost weight. It’s never ‘How are you?’ or ‘You seem happy!’ ”
On another note, many took to Twitter to lament the lack of the female lead characters in the current Star Wars toy offerings out there. Fisher retweeted a few fan comments, see below:
@DisneyStore @nataliewreyford @carrieffisher Carrie Fisher, did you know Disney is not selling Princess Leia dolls? What are your thoughts?
— Brigid (@BrigidCovey) December 1, 2015
@carrieffisher it's almost as if there is no such thing as Leia merchandise at all. pic.twitter.com/LcuDuskHtU
— Katie Daley (@violinist391) December 1, 2015
@carrieffisher thank goodness some places are smart enough to make leia merch- I love my leia funkos! pic.twitter.com/LD0eyIFaMf
— Nicole (@alwaysthequeeen) December 1, 2015
Here’s hoping Disney gets it together. As Bloomberg wrote yesterday, Rey is already insanely popular, and the character, Maz Kanata, played by Lupita Nyong’o, is also being missed on shelves. People took to Twitter to complain about the lack of the new female protagonist using the hashtag #wheresrey.
“Most Star Wars products before the company bought creator Lucasfilm Ltd. in 2012 were toys aimed at boys, said Paul Southern, who runs Disney’s Star Wars licensing business,” states the Bloomberg piece. ” ‘Star Wars,” ’ he said, ‘became known as the biggest boys’ brand in history.’ ”
Enjoy Fisher’s scene based on her book Wishful Drinking, in which she explains what it was like being Leia (NSFW — she’s funny, but she swears a bit). “George Lucas ruined my life, I mean that in the nicest possible way.”: