Carrie Fisher strikes back at critic who told her to quit or be judged on her looks

Carrie Fisher has returned fire after a New York Post critic told her to quit acting if she did not want to be judged on her looks in a much-criticised column.

Kyle Smith said on Wednesday that the Star Wars icon was a public figure who had “made millions off being pretty”.

Responding to Fisher’s comments earlier this week on Twitter, in which the actor and writer hit out at social media trolls who have criticised her appearance in the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, he said the 59-year-old “could have spent the last 40 years teaching kindergarten” if she did not want people talking about her.

Fisher swiftly retaliated on Twitter. “Ok, I quit acting; NOW, can I not like being judged for my looks? Tell me what to do and who to be, oh wise New York post columnist. You GENIUS.”

The actor also addressed Smith’s suggestion that her writing career — Fisher is known for the semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge, her screenplay for the critically-acclaimed film of the same name and the nonfiction book Wishful Drinking — would not have taken off without Star Wars.

“Mr Smith doubts I’d have any success as a writer without Star Wars,” she tweeted. “Peddling doubt about my looks and comments wasn’t enough, now he goes for my writing.”

Fisher also retweeted a number of supportive comments from fans attacking Smith’s column, which has caused something of a Twitter storm.

In his opinion piece, Smith also dismissed Fisher’s claims earlier this month that she felt pressurised to lose weight for The Force Awakens, in which she returns to the role of Leia Organa, now a general. The critic wrote: “No one would know the name Carrie Fisher if it weren’t for her ability to leverage her looks. George Lucas only cast her in the first place because she was young, slim and cute at the time. (She turned out to be a talented writer as well, but it’s an open question whether the second career would ever have gotten off the launch pad without the fuel provided by her first. Mostly she has written about what it’s like to be Carrie Fisher.)”

“Fisher is a public figure. If she didn’t want the public to talk about her, she could have spent the last 40 years teaching kindergarten. As for whether it’s ‘messed up’ for Hollywood to prefer pretty people to appear in its films, Fisher made millions off being pretty. Far from being bitter about this, she and other actresses who profited nicely from their looks should be grateful they had a turn at the top.

“That’s more than average-looking people ever get. As for Disney’s ‘pressure’ to lose weight, she should be even more grateful for being nudged to get healthy.”