Carrie Fisher hated one element of Star Wars, but made it a power move

When I think of my favorite parts of Star Wars, it's hard to separate Carrie Fisher from them. She is the first person we see associated with the Force theme. She resists Darth Vader with impunity after being linked to the theft of the Death Star plan. She even haggles with a Hutt while holding a sci-fi grenade. Departing from the original trilogy, I loved seeing her slap Poe Dameron for recklessness in one moment and grant him "permission to jump in an X-wing and blow something up" in the same sequence. Of course, I was proud of her when she took on Rey's Jedi training.

However, according to Far Out Magazine, there was one "hellish part" that she regretted. Swapnil Dhruv Bose elaborates:

"Despite the positive experiences, there was one moment that Fisher always singled out as a mistake when reflecting on her long and memorable journey as a popular culture icon. For Star Wars fans, it's probably easy to guess that the scene in question came in the third installment of the original trilogy: Return of the Jedi. Enslaved by the widely detested Jabba the Hutt, Leia is forced to wear an article of clothing that became infamously popular... Fisher publicly criticised it and described it as 'what supermodels will eventually wear in the seventh ring of hell.'"

- Swapnil Dhruv Bose

Fisher did not enjoy the uncomfortable bikini as fashion but also said in a 2016 interview with NPR that "it was uncomfortable for what it represented: conquering and objectifying a powerful woman and attempting to render her helpless." This calls to mind the relevant passage from the Return of the Jedi novelization:

"Leia opened her mouth and closed her mind. It was disgusting, of course, but there worse things... The worse things she knew well... She'd endured these pains as she now endured Jabba's loathsome touch--with a natural, inner strength."

- James Kahn

Of course, Fisher delighted in the revenge to come. She enjoyed the fact that Leia's murder of Jabba "was so enjoyable... I sawed his neck off with that chain that I killed him with. I really relished that."

The scenes in Jabba's palace were some of the most awful of the trilogy, but Carrie Fisher made sure that Leia's tribulations led to her character growing in power. It's a lesson we can all learn from.