This didn’t go down well.
Steve Martin and Carrie Fisher were acquaintances for over four decades. They first met at Hollywood’s famous Improv comedy club in the 70s, and crossed paths on during the filming of a number of television shows including SNL. They also shared the same lawyer, and Fisher even interviewed Martin for the LA Times in 1999.
He is perhaps better placed than most to pay tribute to the much-loved actress, script doctor, best-selling writer and extraordinary wit. But Martin’s tweet in tribute to Fisher received such a backlash that he was forced to delete it. The issue most people had with the sentiment is that it focused on the Star Wars star’s looks.
The tweet read:
“When I was a young man, Carrie Fisher she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She turned out to be witty and bright as well.”
Many found it sexist and inappropriate to focus on Fisher’s physical appearance when she achieved so much in her life.
Steve Martin's tweet about Carrie Fisher is extremely bad https://t.co/if7QV6Ow3b
— The Cut (@TheCut) December 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/Dave_Kelly__/status/814324016496463872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/JohnJohnsonson/status/814299704204791808
https://twitter.com/PolarVan/status/814303509944242176
But others were not best pleased by the social media backlash, and lamented the fact that Martin subsequently deleted the tweet.
https://twitter.com/dancingonjelly/status/814271873580142592
https://twitter.com/RuthLlewellyn/status/814183744319979520
Steve Martin was in his 20s when Princess Leia graced the screen how can he not comment on her looks as well as her beautiful mind.
— Michael Albarenga (@albarengaMB) December 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/HSSawakening/status/814187164544028672
