Carrie Fisher Takes On Body Shamers: ‘Blow Us’

God bless Carrie Fisher. Aging is never easy; there are new aches and pains and the metabolism slows down, among other complaints. At 59, Carrie Fisher took on the role with which she was likely most familiar in Hollywood – that of Leia Organa, once a princess and now a general of the Resistance. This Leia was a far cry from the Leia Star Wars fans came to know in the original trilogy that debuted 38 years ago, when she was barely out of her teens and yet still part of Hollywood royalty. Carrie Fisher’s parents are Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and Carrie Fisher took to Twitter to take on the body shamers that decided to spark a debate about whether or not she had aged gracefully.

When Carrie Fisher first debuted in the role of Princess Leia in 1977, she was around 21-years-old and even then struggled with Hollywood’s body image demands for women. She has made no secret of the fact that for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, producers asked her to lose 35 pounds to take on the role that made her famous – and this time, there was no golden bikini involved. Carrie Fisher’s concerns were those critics who openly questioned whether or not she had aged gracefully, and she pulled no punches in her tweets to those concerned.

Please stop debating about whetherOR not?aged well.unfortunately it hurts all3 of my feelings.My BODY hasnt aged as well as I have.Blow us??

— Carrie Fisher (@carrieffisher) December 29, 2015

While there were detractors — one Twitter user denounced Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a “rest home flick” — there were those who came out in support of the actress. Carrie Fisher retweeted the tweet for her 790,000-plus followers on Twitter.

@IzzoKendall @carrieffisher Men don't age better than women, they're just allowed to age.

— Inês Coelho (@ines_opcoelho) December 29, 2015

Carrie Fisher noted in interviews that producers only wanted to hire “only about three-quarters (of her)!” Fisher said, Variety reported. “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 also said that while she has been an actress and that is how many continue to talk to her, she hears the words like a writer, and she was not impressed about Hollywood’s seeming belief that beauty was an accomplishment, a view she said was “insane.”

Carrie Fisher also had the opportunity to interview one of the stars of The Force Awakens for Interview magazine. In talking with Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey, Carrie Fisher said that Ridley needed to fight for her outfit.

“You should fight for your outfit. Don’t be a slave like I was,” Carrie Fisher cautioned the younger actress.

Ridley, who was a relative unknown to the Hollywood scene prior to Star Wars, told Fisher that the actress was “a kick-ass woman” who had “paved the way” for all the girls looking to make a name for themselves in the industry.

Throughout the interview, Carrie Fisher stepped into the role of mentor for Ridley, cautioning her about the merchandising, the fantasies, and the inevitable “space kiss” that was to come Ridley’s way. Fisher, however, demonstrated her classic dry humor and proposed that she and Ridley tour Las Vegas with Star Wars suitcases and other merchandise. Carrie Fisher said that in doing so, Ridley and Fisher would be merchandising the Star Wars system instead of being merchandise themselves.

Surprisingly, Carrie Fisher said that while weight loss was designed to ultimately make people feel good about themselves, it seemed to have the opposite effect on her.

“When I do lose the weight, I don’t like that it makes me feel good about myself. It’s not who I am,” Carrie Fisher said.

[Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images Entertainment]