The One Thing Carrie Fisher Hated About Star Wars

Before "Star Wars" ballooned into a billion-dollar franchise, it was a 1977 hit film. The "small science fiction movie" catapulted Carrie Fisher into legend as Princess Leia (later to be Commander Organa), but it didn't start out as a major career win for the actor. "At the beginning, she did not emotionally connect to the role," Hollywood writer Sue Cameron – Fisher's close friend of 40 years — told People. Cameron added that it wasn't until later that Fisher really "embraced" being Princess Leia, even beginning to attend "Star Wars" fan conventions. "It really made her feel good. And it was uplifting for her," Cameron said. "She was like a little kid who could get really excited."

Cameron added, "She was shocked by the phenomenon and continued to be surprised by its reach." Still, like in all things, Fisher didn't love everything about "Star Wars." There is something that never sat right with her about the film. Something about which she had no choice.

Feminist "Star Wars" fans won't be surprised that the thing Carrie Fisher hated about her time making the films was when she had to wear that garish gold bikini in "Return of the Jedi." She opened up about the experience in one of her final interviews before her death in December 2016, explaining to NPR how demoralizing it was to film the scene practically naked.

"It wasn't my choice," she said. "When [director George Lucas] showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous." She then explained how physically demanding the scene was to film. "I had to sit very straight because I couldn't have lines on my sides, like little creases," she said. "No creases were allowed, so I had to sit very, very rigid straight." The only redeeming thing about the situation, she added, was that she got to kill Jabba the Hutt with the chains that held her captive. Bravo, Princess Leia, bravo.

Carrie Fisher hated Leia's gold bikini when she had to wear it for "Return of the Jedi," but the star got a big kick out of fans wearing it at conventions — specifically the guys. She called it her "favorite" Princess Leia costume to see at conventions when she spoke to NPR in 2016. She told the outlet she had been seeing it "a lot" — and on men of all shapes and sizes. "So that makes me feel good about myself," Fisher said, "kind of a before-and-after thing — this is way after." She added, "Not only is Princess Leia fatter, she's a guy!" When Leia was in Jabba's captivity, she wasn't allowed to have even a single hint of body fat. Seeing folks proudly wearing the costume must have been cathartic for Fisher.

When Fisher finally gets her star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame sometime in 2022, male cosplaying fans should do their princess a favor and sport that gold bikini.