Billie Lourd Slams Carrie Fisher's Siblings: "They Chose to Capitalize on My Mother's Death"
She revealed why she didn't invite them to the late star's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
On May 4, celebrated by many as "Star Wars Day," Carrie Fisher is being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But, some of her family members will not be in attendance, and they're not happy about it. On Wednesday, May 3, Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, released a statement about her mother's siblings, confirming that they will not be at the ceremony and bluntly explaining the reason why. The 30-year-old actor called out the way her aunts and uncle behaved in the aftermath of Carrie's death, accusing them of "capitaliz[ing]" on it.
Lourd spoke out after Carrie's brother, Todd Fisher, commented on not being invited to the star ceremony in an interview and after the Star Wars actor's sisters, Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher, posted about it on social media. Read on to find out why Lourd is shunning her aunts and uncle and what they've had to say in response.
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The siblings come from a blended family.
Carrie and Todd are the children of entertainers Todd Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Actors Joely and Tricia Leigh are Carrie and Todd's half-sisters from their father's marriage to Connie Stevens.
Carrie welcomed Lourd, her only child, with talent agent Bryan Lourd in 1992. Carrie died in December 2016 of cardiac arrest at age 60. Reynolds passed away only one day later, after suffering a stroke at age 84.
Todd said it was "hurtful" to not be included in the star ceremony.
Carrie is being posthumously honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on Thursday.
Todd spoke to TMZ on May 2 about finding out that he wasn't invited to the event. "It's heartbreaking and shocking to me that I was intentionally omitted from attending this important legacy event for my sister, Carrie," he said, adding that it was "extremely hurtful and distressing as I was always a big part of everything my sister and mother did historically over their lifetimes."
Todd claimed that he was the one who initiated getting Carrie a star, and explained that Disney (which owns the Star Wars franchise) told him that the guest list was decided by family, and that the 30 seats available for the event had already been distributed.
"Frankly, it's a distressing situation and I don't deserve to be put in this position. As the only brother of the Carrie Fisher, being omitted from this special day is truly hurtful," Todd said.
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Joely and Tricia Leigh called Lourd's choice "bizarre" and "misguided."
On May 3, Joely and Tricia Leigh posted a joint statement about the Walk of Fame event on their Instagram accounts. They said that they were responding to people who had asked if they would be there.
"Strangely we won't be in attendance to celebrate our sister, whom we adored," Tricia Leigh and Joely wrote. "For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister's career."
The sisters claimed Carrie would have wanted them at the event. "The fact that her only brother and two sisters were intentionally and deliberately excluded is deeply shocking," they continued. "We have all been grieving the loss of our favorite human for some years now…we have given Billie the space to do that in her own way. We have been nothing but loving and open, consistently."
They added that their desire to be on hand wasn't "about a photo op," but rather "about celebrating the permanency of Carrie's legacy in this industry."
Lourd slammed her relatives in a statement.
Lourd responded to Todd, Joely, and Tricia Leigh speaking out by releasing a statement.
"I apologize to anyone reading this for feeling the need to defend myself publicly from these family members. But unfortunately, because they publicly attacked me, I have to publicly respond," the statement (via The Hollywood Reporter) begins. "The truth is I did not invite them to this ceremony. They know why."
Lourd goes on to say that she believes Carrie's siblings "chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on [her] mother's death, by doing multiple interviews and selling individual books for a lot of money, with [her] mom and [her] grandmother's deaths as the subject." She also claims that they didn't consult her before releasing their projects and that she found out what they were doing in the press.
In 2017, Joely's memoir, Growing Up Fisher: Musings, Memories and Misadventures, was published. Todd's book, My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie, came out in 2018.
Lourd's statement says that her aunts and uncle can do "whatever they choose," but that their "actions were very hurtful" to her.
She says they don't have a relationship.
Lourd says of these relatives in her statement, "The truth of my mom's very complicated relationship with her family is only known by me and those who were actually close to her."
She goes on to call out out Todd, Joely, and Tricia Leigh's recent comments specifically. "The press release Todd Fisher gave to TMZ and the posting Joely Fisher placed on Instagram, once again confirms that my instincts were right," Lourd says. "To be clear—there is no feud. We have no relationship. This was a conscious decision on my part to break a cycle with a way of life I want no part of for myself or my children."
Lourd has two young children, Kingston and Jackson, with her husband, Austen Rydell.
Todd said he wanted to "put [their] differences aside" for the day.
After Lourd released her statement, Todd responded with one of his own.
"We made every attempt to speak with Billie's team regarding the invitation prior to making any public comments," Todd's statement reads (via THR). "Keeping the focus on Carrie Fisher, let's put our differences aside for the hour long ceremony and move on from there. I was told it was a no go and why would I want to heighten level of emotion for his niece, going further to say if I showed up, she would not."
He also defends his memoir. "I never capitalized on either Carrie or my mother Debbie's deaths, and in no way meant to hurt Billie, and that is the truth," the statement continues. "Billie's father was well aware months in advance of my book, which, was a loving and truthful homage to the incredible lives, not deaths, of Carrie and mom and the 60 plus years I spent with them both."
Carrie's star ceremony will take place on May 4 at 11:30 a.m. PT. and will be live streamed on the Walk of Fame website. Lourd will accept the honor of her mother's behalf and others close to Carrie will give speeches.
