Raven-Symone might think her weight loss takes away from all her other successes, but Carrie Fisher seems to think shedding a few pounds will make people stop seeing her as a “fat woman” and start recognizing her for everything she’s been through and accomplished.

As a person who has spent her life battling substance abuse and bipolar disorder, Carrie Fisher has taken on bipolar disorder advocacy. She’s spoken publicly about the mental illness and in 2008 released her best-selling memoir, Wishful Drinking – which soon became a theater and then HBO production.

Yet, as the actress of an iconic role (Princess Leia, anyone?) whose youthful beauty has pretty much forever been immortalized, Fisher is feeling the backlash of weight gain.

According to Salon.com, the actress-turned-advocate decided enough was enough when she ran across an Internet posting that compared her looks to a certain male musician:

I Googled myself recently without a lubricant and I came across a posting that someone made about me which was, ‘What ever happened to Carrie Fisher? She used to be so hot, now she looks like Elton John.’ Yeah, that hurt [...] people are seeing me as this fat woman…not as someone who’s written books or who did this show and got through all these crazy obstacles I’ve gotten thru [sic].

So, what’s Carrie gonna do?

Why, what so many actresses and singers before her have done, of course. Become the spokesperson for a new company. In this case, Jenny Craig.

If Fisher has chosen to drop the weight for herself – to become healthier, to feel more confident, etc. and so forth – more power to her. We all want to feel good about ourselves, don’t we? We all want to be healthy and have confidence.

However, as she travels her Jenny Craig journey, I hope she keeps in mind what Salon.com writer Mary Elizabeth Williams put so eloquently:

[...] it seems the problem isn’t Carrie Fisher’s. Because if you look at a woman and can’t see her grace and wit and strength because you’re too busy snarking on her weight, maybe it’s not her body that needs fixing. It’s your mind.

What do you think? Will losing weight impact the way people view Carrie Fisher’s successes? Or, could she experience what Raven-Symone is going through and find that people might pay more attention to her weight loss than her achievements?

Image Credit: Matt Klein

Story Heads Up: Chato B. Steward, Mental Health Humor

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    Last reviewed: 17 Jan 2011