Carrie Fisher Discusses the 'Double Standard' for Women in 'Star Wars'

As we usher in a new era of Star Wars movies that finally give women like Rey and Jyn Erso a chance to shine as action heroes, it’s worth reflecting on the roles women were given in the original trilogy — really just Princess Leia, because she was the only woman who got more than a handful of lines.

The princess herself, Carrie Fisher, was on The Late Show and chatted with Stephen Colbert about this very subject. Colbert noted that although Leia has the Force, she didn’t get to utilize it. “Even in space, women are … there’s a double standard, with the Force. Even with the Force,” Fisher said. “The only force she ever uses is this: ‘Something’s wrong,’” joked Colbert, sitting an alert position and mimicking Leia’s Force use.

Colbert then pointed out what can only be described as a pretty big flaw in A New Hope. “Why do you have to comfort Luke when one guy dies, Ben Kenobi, but your whole planet has exploded?” he asked. “That’s right!” agreed Fisher. “I’m still upset about that. Not just my planet. My mother, my stepfather, as I found out later, my record collection, all my clothes, so I have to wear that white dress all the time.”

Of course, Fisher pointed out how the treatment of her at the time, as Carrie Fisher, wasn’t that much better. She was sent to a fat farm — her words. “They want to hire a part of me, not all of me,” she said. “They want to hire about three-fourths. And so I have to get rid of the fourth somehow. The fourth can’t be with me. I made a joke. The fourth can’t be with me!”

Carrie Fisher Now Regrets Revealing ‘Star Wars’ Affair With Harrison Ford:

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