Carrie Fisher Once Gave Her Unfiltered Thoughts On That Controversial Slave Leia Costume
Even 39 years after "Return of the Jedi" premiered, its iconic gold bikini — as worn by star Carrie Fisher — remains a capital "M" moment in pop culture history. Surely, if memes had existed in 1983, there would have been a flurry of them with her bikini as the centerpiece that year.
But Fisher wasn't always so keen on the outfit, as evidenced by interviews she gave over the years. In fact, she didn't even like to see the outfit on other women at Comic-Con anymore. (She did, however, like to see it on certain people. More on that later.) During one interview, in particular, preceding the premiere of "The Last Jedi," Fisher revealed to NPR that the bikini she wore in "Return of the Jedi" wasn't her first fashion choice for the film. Read on for Fisher's unearthed, unfiltered thoughts on the outfit, as well as her opinion about what ultimately redeemed her involuntary bikini-wearing.
Carrie Fisher improvised a line in that gold bikini
The "Return of the Jedi" bikini in question, which has since become so famous, is one that Carrie Fisher wore while her character Princess Leia was being held captive by the monstrous, bulbous Jabba the Hut, an alien gangster. Her "Slave Leia bikini," as it has been called, nearly stole the show, even as Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) attempted to rescue Leia.
But Fisher actually improvised a line while wearing the bikini — a line that fans never got to see.
"When we first rehearsed it, [Han (Ford) and Luke (Mark Hamill) are] brought in front of Jabba. They talk to Jabba, Jabba talks to Harrison and Mark, and then they're led off. They never say, 'Hey, how are you,'" Fisher told NPR. "So as they were being led off, I said, in the rehearsal, 'Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Seriously!' which I thought they should've kept in there."
Wearing the bikini was not Carrie Fisher's choice
In addition to having her clever line taken from the movie, Carrie Fisher also had to endure the ignominy of wearing a revealing costume she never approved. She told NPR: "It was like, 'Where am I in all of this?' ... I have to stay with the slug with the big tongue! Nearly naked, which is not a style choice for me. ... It wasn't my choice. When [director George Lucas] showed me the outfit, I thought he was kidding and it made me very nervous. I had to sit very straight because I couldn't have lines on my sides, like little creases. No creases were allowed, so I had to sit very, very rigid straight."
However, Fisher also admitted that there was a silver lining to the scene. "What redeems it is I get to kill him, which was so enjoyable," she said. "I sawed his neck off with that chain that I killed him with. I really relished that because I hated wearing that outfit and sitting there rigid straight, and I couldn't wait to kill him."
Carrie Fisher loves seeing the outfit at Comic-Con ... on men
Despite her love-hate relationship with her iconic bikini, however, Carrie Fisher still loved seeing it on other people at Comic-Con. She didn't love seeing it on women, though.
"My favorite [costume] to see is the metal bikini — on men! That is what has been happening a lot. A lot," she told NPR. "And not thin men, by the way! So that makes me feel good about myself, kind of a before-and-after thing — this is way after. Not only is Princess Leia fatter, she's a guy!
The rest of the interview, which covers Fisher's off-screen relationships with both Harrison Ford and her own mother, is just as compelling. Sadly, however, it would be one of the last interviews Fisher would ever give, as she would die just one month later. However, as Luke Skywalker once said, "No one's ever really gone." Accordingly, fans will never truly be without her wisdom; it's always just one click away.