‘Their actions were hurtful’: Billie Lourd calls out mom Carrie Fisher’s siblings as they remain uninvited to actress’ Walk of Fame ceremony
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd alleged that her mother’s siblings tried to “capitalize” on the actress’ death while talking about why her brother and sisters remained uninvited from Fisher’s posthumous Walk of Fame ceremony. “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,” the actress told Variety.
“I found out they had done this through the press. They never consulted me or considered how this would affect our relationship,” she added. “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,” Lourde continued. “I chose to and still choose to deal with her loss in a much different way,” she stated. The ‘Booksmart’ star’s comments came after Fisher’s sisters, Tricia and Joely, shared a joint statement on Instagram saying that their snub from the Walk of Fame ceremony was "deeply shocking". Her brother Todd also told TMZ that it was "heartbreaking" to get “intentionally omitted” from the event.
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'Star Wars' Princess Leia actress Carrie Fisher to be honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Who are Joely and Tricia Fisher?
Joely Fisher is an American actress and singer. She is the elder daughter of legendary singer Eddy Fisher and actress Connie Stevens. Fisher debuted in the 1987 comedy film ‘Pretty Smart’ and had her breakthrough playing the role of Paige Clark in the 1994 ABC sitcom ‘Ellen’. The show also earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Joely also appeared in films like ‘I’ll Do Anything’ (1994), ‘Inspector Gadget’ (1999) and ‘Girl in the Basement’ (2021).
She also earned leading roles in the Lifetime comedy-drama ‘Wild Card’ and Fox sitcom ‘Til Death’ as well as guest roles on shows such as ‘The Golden Palace’, ‘The Outer Limits’, ‘Caroline in the City’, ‘Grace Under Fire', ‘Growing Pains’, ‘Blossom’, and ‘Coach’. Joely also had a recurring role as Lynette's boss Nina on ‘Desperate Housewives’. She also had her Broadway debut as a replacement in the revival of ‘Grease’ (1994).
Joely was named Miss Golden Globe at the 1992 Golden Globe Awards. She became the artist ambassador for Save the Children in 2008 and was also elected as secretary-treasurer of SAG-AFTRA in 2021. She is married to cinematographer Christopher Duddy and has three daughters with him. Joely is also stepmother to Duddy’s two sons from his previous marriage.
Joely’s younger sister Tricia Leigh Fisher is also an actress and singer. She is the second child of Eddie Fisher and Connie Stevens. Tricia debuted in the 1985 crime drama ‘Stick’ and went on to appear in ‘Pretty Smart’ the following year. She also performed the theme song of the film. Tricia also appeared in TV movies like ‘Strange Voices’ (1987), ‘Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis’ (1988), and ‘The Making of a Hollywood Madam’ (1996) as well as earned roles in films like ‘Hollywood Chaos’ (1989) and ‘CHUD II: Bud the CHUD’ (1989), ‘Book of Love’ (1990), and ‘Arizona Dream’ (1990), among others.
Tricia also made guest appearances on ‘Our House,’ ‘Growing Pains’, ‘Ellen’, ‘Wild Card’, ‘7th Heaven’, and ‘Til Death’. She released a self-titled debut album for Atco Records in 1990. The actress was honored at The Thalians 51st Anniversary Ball alongside her mother and sister. She is married to actor Byron Thames and appeared on the ABC reality series ‘Beverly Hills Nannies’ with her husband and children.
Joely and Tricia are half-sisters of director Todd Fisher and late actress Carrie Fisher, Eddie Fisher’s children from his marriage to Debbie Reynolds. They were raised by their mother Connie Stevens after the latter’s divorce from Eddie in 1969. Joely and Tricia began performing on stage in their mother’s Las Vegas show and also toured the world with Stevens.
Why were Carrie Fisher’s sisters not invited to her posthumous Walk of Fame ceremony?
Carrie Fisher is set to be honored at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday, May 5, but her brother Todd and sisters Joely and Tricia remained uninvited to the ceremony. Joely and Tricia recently took to Instagram to address their absence from the celebration. “In response to all of you asking whether or not we will be part of the celebration…. Strangely we won’t be in attendance to celebrate our sister, whom we adored,” a joint statement from the sisters read.
“For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister’s career,” Joely and Tricia claimed. “This is something Carrie would have definitely wanted her siblings to be present for,” they added. “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,” the sisters stated.
“This isn’t about a photo op on Hollywood Blvd… this is about celebrating the permanency of Carrie’s legacy in this industry, taking her place with a star on the iconic walk of fame along side our parents,” they said. “We thank the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for honoring our sister in this way. May the Fourth Be with you. Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher,” the statement concluded.
Lourd further opened up about not inviting her mother’s siblings to the ceremony. “I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother’s brother and sister,” the actress began. “I apologize to anyone reading this for feeling the need to defend myself publicly from these family members,” she stated. “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 explained.
“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,” she added. “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,” the ‘Scream Queens’ alum concluded.
Billie Lourd claims Carrie Fisher had ‘complicated’ relationship with siblings
In the wake of Fisher’s death, her sisters Joely and Tricia appeared on 'Good Morning America' to speak about their loss. Tricia said they found out about their half-sister’s cardiac arrest from the media and dubbed the latter as the “coolest big sister in the world”. She said Fisher was “secretly soft” and shared that the three sisters “grew up without a father” since Eddie was not regular with his visits.
Meanwhile, Joely said she remembers Fisher reading diaries the latter kept from ‘Star Wars’ to her 10 years ago. She also said she will miss having one-on-one time with Fisher. Joely also wrote a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter and said that Debbie Reynolds, who died a day after Carrie Fisher, told her she was praying to have more time with her daughter.
“I knew that if Carrie wasn’t going to survive this, that Debbie would not. You knew it,” Joely shared. “You could feel it,” Tricia added. “You could see it in her face,” Joely continued, before saying that Reynolds “would not last without her on the planet. She wouldn’t, and she didn’t.” However, in her recent interview with Variety, Lourd claimed Fisher had a “very complicated relationship” with her family.
Todd Fisher shed light on his complex relationship with Carrie in 2018 and said the siblings had a rivalry over their mother’s love. “Carrie perceived me as a bit of threat because Debbie and I had a quiet, peaceful, unspoken love that did not require constant attention,” Todd said as per Variety. “Carrie was more insecure about her relationship. I didn’t mind being Debbie Reynolds’ son, but Carrie was always trying to get out from under Debbie Reynolds’ shadow,” he reportedly said at the time.
That same year, he told Fox News that the relationship between the siblings was complicated due to Fisher’s addiction issues. “We were talking about traveling together and doing other things, and she was still a little angry at me because, A, the party I had to sort of force down her throat, but my mom wanted it, and B, there was always different tension between the family of mom, particularly myself, and Carrie, as it related to her drug use at the time,” he said.
However, he claimed that their blood relationship overpowered every feud when they met. “But when Carrie and I got face-to-face, there was no way to have any of that. It just melted away, because the blood, the relationship between brother and sister, the bond, is so deep… She broke down and said ‘We have to be OK with each other. It’s the foundation,’” he stated.