Tomorrow is a very special May 4th as it will see the debut of Carrie Fisher’s long overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The ceremony was scheduled on Star Wars Day to honor Fisher’s time playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy as well as the recent Star Wars sequel trilogy. Sadly, Fisher passed away in 2016 at age 60 only one day before her mother, Debbie Reynolds, died at age 84. It was announced that Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, would be accepting the star on her behalf. Today, 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.
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“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 livestream Carrie Fisher’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony exclusively at walkoffame.com at 11:30 AM PT on May 4th.
