While “Star Wars: The Force Awakens“ has dominated the box office since its release, Jewish actress Carrie Fisher is taking down those who have shamed her online about her weight in the new film.
It’s no secret that female actresses are basically not allowed to age. In “Return of the Jedi,” Fisher became famous for wearing nothing more than a gold bikini, but it’s been three decades since she first appeared onscreen as Princess Leia, so it seems unrealistic to think 59-year-old Fisher would look the same. Of course, in Hollywood, nothing is exactly realistic.
Instead of letting her online shamers get the best of her, she took to Twitter to wryly air her feelings: “Please stop debating about whether or not I aged well. Unfortunately it hurts my feelings. My BODY hasn’t aged as well as I have.”
READ: The Cutest Star Wars Babies, From the Zuckerbergs and Beyond
But that’s not all she said. She also had some key words for those who place too much emphasis on outward appearance:
Youth&BeautyR/NOT ACCOMPLISHMENTS,theyre theTEMPORARY happy/BiProducts/of Time&/or DNA/Dont Hold yourBreath4either/ifUmust holdAir/takeGarys
— Carrie Fisher (@carrieffisher) December 30, 2015
Fisher also retweeted comments from supporters, including one who said, “Men don’t age better than women, they’re just allowed to age.” This isn’t the only time that the actress has lamented over Hollywood’s ageism prejudice. She told Good Housekeeping that she was told to lose 35 pounds:
“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.”
According to The Washington Post, the 100 top-earning films of 2014 didn’t even star women over 45, which only reinforces the unrealistic expectations of what women should look like.
Personally, though, I think this tweet beats them all:
“They made Carrie Fisher drop all that weight for Star Wars yet the new droid gets to be a fat round ball.”
Well said.
