With new Star Wars movies flying into theaters, the principle actors have been really hitting the news circuit to publicize releases. Princess Leia herself, the always candid Carrie Fisher, has been doing a ton of publicity, all with hilarious and quotable results. Recently, Fisher was asked her opinion on the banning of her gold bikini from Return of the Jedi
To The father who flipped out about it, -"What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?" Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage
There you go ladies and gentlemen, sound logic as to why the infamous gold bikini should have been left alone. The character of Princess Leia looked thoroughly miserable while clad in her skivvies, and she did end up getting her revenge on Jabba The Hutt.
Rumors of the ban on Slave Leia came a few months ago, partly due to a comment that Carrie Fisher herself made to co-star Daisy Ridley. Her advice to the Star Wars newcomer, starring is the mysterious Rey in The Force Awakens, was "Don’t be a slave like I was… You keep fighting against that slave outfit." Shortly thereafter, rumors began circulating that the Star Wars franchise, with Disney’s new involvement, would no longer be selling any merchandise containing Princess Leia in her slave outfit.
Star Wars fans got their first gobsmacked look at Carrie Fisher in the gold bikini early into Return of the Jedi in 1983. This image cemented Fisher’s status as a sex symbol, and had fanboys drooling well into their adulthood. Princess Leia got to use the chain around her neck to strangle the grotesque Jabba, keeping her as the badass we came to love in the first two Star Wars films.
Personally, I think the banning of the gold bikini is pretty silly. This was an iconic part of the original trilogy, and regardless of whether or not you’ll be able to get action figures of Slave Leia, it still exists in the canon.
Additionally, Carrie Fisher’s loose-lipped (and delightful) style of speaking should be taken with a grain of salt. Fisher often jokes that she thinks with her mouth, making her one of the trailblazers of #nofilter. And you can infer from her interview with The Wall Street Journal that she believes the ban is foolish.
Call me a scruffy looking nerf herder, but rather than banning action figures perhaps the new set of Star Wars films can write more engaging female characters. Surely, that would help dispel claims of sexism in the franchise and contribute to the feminist movement more than making certain merchandise is unavailable.
But that’s none of my business.
