Billie Lourd is setting the record straight about her late mother Carrie Fisher's upcoming legacy celebration.
On May 3, the daughter of the late "Star Wars" legend confirmed she intentionally left out Carrie's siblings—Todd, Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher—from her mom's May 4 posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony.
"The truth is I did not invite them to this ceremony," Billie, 30, said in a statement obtained by E! News. "They know why."
Todd told TMZ May 2 he was "being omitted" from the ceremony, which he found "truly hurtful." Her aunts wrote on Instagram May 3 that Billie has "chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister's career."
Billie said their messages led her to issue a statement in response. "I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother's brother and sister," she said. "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."
Carrie Fisher and Billie Lourd's Sweetest Mother-Daughter Moments
She added that her choice was deliberate in light of her family's alleged behavior after Carrie's death on Dec. 27, 2016 and grandmother Debbie Reynold's passing the next day.
Entertainment News
"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," Billie said. "I found out they had done this through the press. They never consulted me or considered how this would affect our relationship."
In 2017, Joely released the book "Growing Up Fisher: Musings, Memories and Misadventures," while Todd published his memoir "My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie" in 2018. However, Billie said that the real dynamic between Carrie and her family was not actually revealed to many.
"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," said Billie, whose dad is Bryan Lourd. "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."
Billie has no regrets about excluding Todd, Joely and Tricia Leigh from the ceremony, noting that the "conscious decision" was done to "break a cycle with a way of life I want no part of for myself or my children." (She shares 4-month-old daughter Jackson Joanne and 2-year-old son Kingston Fisher with husband Austen Rydell.)
"The press release Todd Fisher gave to TMZ and the posting Joely Fisher placed on Instagram, once again confirms that my instincts were right," she added. "To be clear—there is no feud. We have no relationship."
As for the upcoming ceremony, Billie couldn't be more thrilled to honor her mom's life on a day with special significance to Star Wars fans.
"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 concluded. "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."
