Shop
 Explore 

Carrie Fisher takes down body-shamers in just 2 tweets.

The world can always count on Carrie Fisher to tell it like it is.

For nearly four decades, the world has best known Carrie Fisher for her role as Princess Leia.

In that same span, she's also been a best-selling novelist and memoirist and, just generally, one of the most open and honest voices in all of Hollywood.

Fisher as Princess Leia from "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi." Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

But after some scrutiny over her appearance in the latest film, she's got a message for her critics: Stop.

Taking to Twitter, Fisher called out body-shamers, writing, “Please stop debating about whether or not I aged well. Unfortunately, it hurts all three of my feelings. My body hasn’t aged as well as I have. Blow us.”

“Youth and beauty are not accomplishments, they’re the temporary happy by-products of time and/or DNA," she added.

In a recent interview, Fisher said she felt pressure to lose weight for the new film.

"They don’t want to hire all of me — only about three-quarters! Nothing changes: it’s an appearance-driven thing," she tells Good Housekeeping about feeling pressured to lose 35 pounds to reprise her role. "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."

In some recently resurfaced promotional pictures from 1983's "Return of the Jedi," Fisher — who had originally been asked to get down to 95 pounds for the role — is seen splashing around in water. This despite the fact that the scene in which she wears this outfit happens to occur on a desert planet. (But why let details get in the way of sexualization, right?)

Her male co-stars — Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford — haven't received nearly as much criticism.

Men are allowed to age. Women, on the other hand — not so much. While Hamill joined Fisher in undergoing a weight-loss regimen for the new movies, neither he nor Ford were given the same level of public criticism as Fisher. (Don't read the comments on any article about Fisher discussing her weight. Trust me.)

Ford, Hamill, and Fisher promoting "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney.

Regardless of what you think of her weight or appearance, she absolutely rocked "The Force Awakens."

And shouldn't that be what matters?

Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney.

From Your Site Articles

'Bridgerton' star Nicola Coughlan's pleas for fans to stop commenting on her body ›

Joy

Airbnb host wakes his guest up in the middle of the night so she wouldn't miss the northern lights

Best. Host. Ever.

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

Keep ReadingShow less

nature

Education

Germany's most famous castle isn't a real castle. It's an elaborate 'work of fan fiction.'

Though it looks medieval, it was built in the 19th century by an eccentric "fairy tale king" who spent much of his life constructing his own elaborate fantasy world.

Public Domain

Neuschwanstein Castle sits atop a rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps.

Even if you haven't heard of Neuschwanstein Castle, there's a good chance you've at least seen pictures of it. Set atop a tree-covered rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps, the picturesque castle looks like it was conjured straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it served as inspiration for Disney Imagineers as they designed "Sleeping Beauty's Castle" in Disneyland, and it's regularly named the top castle to visit in Germany.

There are estimated to be around 25,000 castles in Germany, but Neuschwanstein is unique among them. Most notably, it's not a real castle and never was. While it bears the look and feel of a well-preserved medieval castle, it was actually built in the 19th century, and rather than serving as a fortress, it served as the fantasy castle of an eccentric king obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas and medieval mythology.

Ludwig II came to the Bavarian throne in 1864 at age 18 with no experience in government or politics. Two years later, Prussia conquered Austria and Bavaria, and Ludwig's powerful status as king was greatly diminished. Not that he was particularly interested in governance anyway; he was more drawn to the romantic idea of having his own kingdom.

Keep ReadingShow less

interesting history

Pop Culture

People are loving this Amazon delivery driver for warning a woman that her house is 'unsafe'

Great info, even better delivery.

TikTok

Delivering packages AND safety.

Amazon delivery drivers don’t have the easiest job in the world. Sitting through traffic, working in extreme temperatures, hauling boxes … not exactly a fun time. So when a driver goes out of their way to be extra considerate—people notice.

One delivery driver has gone viral for the way she delivered a little bit of safety education, along with some lighthearted advice. The TikTok video of the encounter, which now has more than 4 million views, was shared by Jessica Huseman, who had only recently moved into her new house.

Keep ReadingShow less

acts of kindness

Science

Conjoined twins with fused brains separated; surgeons practiced for months in virtual reality

Arthur and Bernardo finally get to see each other face to face.

Image by sasint/Canva

Surgeons prepared to separate 3-year-old conjoined twins in Brazil using virtual reality.

The things human beings have figured out how to do boggles the mind sometimes, especially in the realm of medicine.

It wasn't terribly long ago that people with a severe injury had to liquor up, bite a stick, have a body part sewn up or sawed off and hope for the best. (Sorry for the visual, but it's true.) The discoveries of antibiotics and anesthesia alone have completely revolutionized human existence, but we've gone well beyond that with what our best surgeons can accomplish.

Surgeries can range from fairly simple to incredibly complex, but few surgeries are more complicated than separating conjoined twins with combined major organs. That's why the recent surgical separation of conjoined twin boys with fused brains in Brazil is so incredible.

Keep ReadingShow less

Pop Culture

People share the 18 things that are a 'subtle sign' someone is really smart

"They effortlessly communicate complex concepts in a simple way."

via PixaBay

Albert Einstein

One of the strangest things about being human is that people of lesser intelligence tend to overestimate how smart they are and people who are highly intelligent tend to underestimate how smart they are.

This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and it’s proven every time you log onto Facebook and see someone from high school who thinks they know more about vaccines than a doctor.

The interesting thing is that even though people are poor judges of their own smarts, we’ve evolved to be pretty good at judging the intelligence of others.