Carrie Fisher thought removing Princess Leia bikini merchandise would be ‘stupid’

'“What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?” Tell them that a giant slug captured me.'

People have been sharing their favourite memories of Carrie Fisher after news broke that she had died aged 60 - so here's one of ours.

Some (not entirely credible) rumours circulated that Disney was planning to retire all of its ‘slave Leia’ merchandise to avoid causing offence, after reports that one father had complained about his daughter wanting one of the bikini costumes.

In an interview, the Wall Street Journal asked her what she made of this, to which she replied quite simply: "I think it’s stupid."

She elaborated:

“The father who flipped out about it, 'What am I going to tell my kid about why she’s in that outfit?'

"Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn’t like it. And then I took it off. Backstage.”

Typically candid, Fisher went on to say she never once had doubts about returning to the role of Leia in the sequel.

“I’ve been this character for 40 years, why would I not?” she said.

“Because I’m going to be associated with Princess Leia more? There is no “more.” And I’m a female working in show business, where, if you’re famous, you have a career until you’re 45, maybe. Maybe. And that’s about 15 people.”

Fisher said that the sequel finds an older Leia having gone through some tough experiences that make her not find everything as funny anymore.

But as for whether she can relate more to the character now?

"No. I bring [the characters] to me. I don’t go to them. I don’t get into character."