Alright, so I know everyone is super excited about the new Star Wars movie The Force Awakens, but I’m about to drop some knowledge that might damper your excitement a bit. Sorry in advance. Recently, Star Wars matriarch Carrie Fisher told Good Housekeeping UK she was pressured to lose more than 35 pounds for the new film.
This is a woman who, in the 38 years since she first appeared in those iconic hair buns, has become an acclaimed screenwriter, novelist, and performance artist. Yet she says the industry is still obsessed with her weight. Come on, Hollywood. Get over it.
In Fisher’s Good Housekeeping interview, she talks all about the industry’s total fixation on her appearance. She says, “They don’t want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters! 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.”
For god sakes, the woman is 59-years-old, why is it not okay for her to look like it? Fisher put it eloquently when she said, “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!’” I guess we already knew Hollywood was completely fucked up, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, I’d like to think that at least an institution like Carrie Fisher would be immune.
It seems nothing has changed since 1977 when Fisher at 19-years-olds, 5’1” and 105 pounds was asked to lose weight when she was first cast as Princess Leia. That’s certainly discouraging. The good news is this time around, Fisher is talking about it. Sure it’s discouraging that Hollywood is still completely image-obsessed, but the differences is, now more people actually care when women speak out about it. That’s one thing to be happy about.
Images via Star Wars and Good Housekeeping
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