Star Wars Day: Mark Hamill Celebrates Carrie Fisher's "Richly-Deserved" Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Today is an extra special May the 4th AKA Star Wars Day, because it's the day Carrie Fisher gets her long overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fisher passed away in 2016 at age 60, so her daughter Billie Lourd accepted the star on her behalf. This marks the 2,754th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The event took place at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles this morning and featured a lovely speech by Lourd as well as her "space uncle," Mark Hamill. Today, Hamill took to Instagram to celebrate his longtime costar before attending the event and sharing kind words about her.
"May The Fourth Be Carrie Frances Fisher Day As She Receives Her Richly-Deserved⭐️ On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame," Hamill wrote. "I am so happy to be here with Billie and so many of my Star Wars colleagues," Hamill said during today's ceremony. "I met Carrie when she was 19 years old," he shared. "Every expectation I had was just obliterated, she was so caring, so funny, so adorable, so wise beyond her years. I just couldn't believe it. And brutally frank. She started telling me stories, intimate stories about her family."
"I mean, these are things I probably would not tell friends unless I knew them for years. But that was Carrie. She also had a wisdom that was far beyond what a 19-year-old was expected to have," Hamill continued. "I'm so please that we're here to honor her legacy and accomplishments."
The Luke Skywalker star also shared the same tribute from when Fisher passed back in 2016. "Carrie was one-of-a-kind who belonged to us all, whether she liked it or not. She was OUR Princess, damn it, and the actress who played her blurred into one gorgeous, fiercely independent, and ferociously funny, take-charge woman who took our collective breath away."
Why Weren't Carrie Fisher's Siblings Invited To Her Walk of Fame Ceremony?
Yesterday, Billie Lourd issued a statement (via Variety) explaining why Fisher's siblings, Todd, Joely, and Tricia Leigh Fisher, were not invited to the event after Todd Fisher told TMZ that it was "heartbreaking" and "shocking" to be left out.
"I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother's brother and sister," Lourd explained. "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 truth is I did not invite them to this ceremony. They know why."
Lourd continued, "Days after my mom died, her brother and her sister chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother's death, by doing multiple interviews and selling individual books for a lot of money, with my mom and my grandmother's deaths as the subject. I found out they had done this through the press. They never consulted me or considered how this would affect our relationship. 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. Though I recognize they have every right to do whatever they choose, their actions were very hurtful to me at the most difficult time in my life. I chose to and still choose to deal with her loss in a much different way."
Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher also posted a joint statement on Instagram today. They wrote, "For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister's career. This is something Carrie would have definitely wanted her siblings to be present for. The fact that her only brother and two sisters were intentionally and deliberately excluded is deeply shocking."
Lourd reacted to her uncle and aunt's words in her own statement, adding, "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 shared. "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 added, "The people who knew and loved my mom at Disney and Lucasfilm have made this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor her legacy possible. This moment is about Carrie Fisher and all that she accomplished and what she meant to the world. I'm going to focus on that. May the 4th be with you."
You can rewatch the live stream from Carrie Fisher's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony at walkoffame.com.